Union minister for railways, electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw outlined what he described as the scale and depth of India’s transformation into a global electronics manufacturing hub, pointing to sharp growth in production, exports and jobs over the past decade under the Centre’s Make in India push.

In an 11-part thread on X, Vaishnaw said India’s electronics growth story is rooted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building a full manufacturing ecosystem rather than focusing only on finished products. He said the number of mobile manufacturing units in the country has expanded 150 times, from just two units in 2014–15 to about 300 units in 2024–25.

Electronics production, he said, has risen nearly six-fold, increasing from ₹1.9 lakh crore in 2014–15 to ₹11.3 lakh crore now. Over the same period, electronics exports have grown eight times, from ₹0.38 lakh crore to ₹3.3 lakh crore, pointing to India’s increasing integration into global supply chains.

Power of PLI

Vaishnaw attributed a significant part of this expansion to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing. According to the minister, the scheme has attracted investments worth over ₹13,475 crore, while enabling production of around ₹9.8 lakh crore.

He said the programme has created more than 1.3 lakh jobs in the last five years, with both global companies entering India and domestic manufacturers scaling up capacity.

As a result, electronics has now become India’s third-largest export category, up from seventh place a decade ago. Vaishnaw said India is also the second-largest mobile phone manufacturing country in the world, with mobile phone production rising 28 times in 11 years to ₹5.5 lakh crore, while mobile phone exports have surged 127 times during the same period.

He noted that policy focus has gradually shifted from assembling finished products to building capabilities across the value chain, including modules, components, sub-assemblies, raw materials and manufacturing equipment. This transition is being supported by the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme, which has received 249 applications involving ₹1.15 lakh crore in proposed investments, ₹10.34 lakh crore in expected production, and potential creation of 1.42 lakh jobs.

Vaishnaw said this represents the highest investment commitment India has seen in the electronics sector so far.

The minister also pointed to progress in semiconductors, saying 10 semiconductor units have been approved, with three already in pilot or early production stages. These fabs and assembly, testing, marking and packaging units are expected to supply chips to domestic electronics and mobile manufacturers.

Overall, Vaishnaw said electronics manufacturing has generated around 25 lakh jobs over the past decade, calling it evidence of “real economic growth at the grassroots level,” with further job creation expected as component and semiconductor manufacturing scales up.