India’s share in global electronics demand surges at 17.2% CAGR; exports near fivefold rise since 2016

India’s share in global electronics demand has expanded at a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2% between 2015 and 2024, significantly outpacing the global growth rate of 4.4%, driven largely by a sharp rise in mobile phone exports, according to the latest edition of Trade Watch Quarterly released by NITI Aayog. 

Electronics exports increased nearly fivefold between 2016 and 2024, reaching $42.1 billion, underscoring the sector’s emergence as a cornerstone of India’s manufacturing and export transformation. 

The Quarter 2 FY26 (July–September 2025) edition of Trade Watch Quarterly was released on Friday in New Delhi by Suman Bery, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, in the presence of Member Arvind Virmani and other senior officials. 

Electronics among fastest-growing segments of world trade

With global electronics trade valued at $4.6 trillion, the sector remains one of the largest and fastest-evolving segments of the world economy. India has shown particular strength in mobile phones, consumer electronics and communication equipment, with exports increasingly targeting key final-consumption markets such as the US, the UK, and the UAE. 

Electronics has now become the second-largest item in India’s export basket. The sector’s technology-led nature and strong linkages with industries including automotive, renewable energy, telecom, defence, and digital services position it as a powerful multiplier for industrial growth. 

The report noted that India’s trade performance in Q2FY26 was supported by export-led momentum, sustaining overall trade expansion despite heightened global uncertainty. Combined services and merchandise exports grew 8.5%, outpacing import growth in both segments. 

At a structural level, the edition highlighted the deepening of trade among developing economies, which has expanded nearly fourfold since 2005 and now accounts for a growing share of global exports. India’s trade trajectory, the report noted, is increasingly aligned with this Global South rebalancing through regional value chains and emerging trade corridors. 

Growing role of e-commerce in enabling export growth

The publication also underscored the growing role of e-commerce in enabling export growth. India is now among the world’s top six e-commerce markets, with electronics accounting for nearly half of online retail sales. While e-commerce exports remain modest, they are projected to scale rapidly and could contribute 20–30% of India’s merchandise exports by 2030, aided by improvements in logistics, regulatory facilitation and greater MSME participation. 

Having established scale in assembly and system integration, India is now moving toward component manufacturing and higher value addition. This shift is being supported by targeted policy measures, including a ₹40,000 crore allocation in the Union Budget under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme aimed at strengthening domestic capabilities. 

Logistics, tariff reforms, and skills crucial for next-phase growth

The analysis highlighted that sustained competitiveness would depend on deeper integration into global electronics value chains, spanning printed circuit board design, semiconductor assembly and testing, power electronics and embedded systems. Continued improvements in logistics efficiency, tariff rationalisation, and industry-aligned skill development will be critical to positioning electronics as a key driver of export growth and technological advancement over the next decade. 

Bery said electronics, as the organising core of modern manufacturing value chains, plays a crucial role in shaping trade balances and technological sovereignty. “While India has achieved scale in final assembly, sustained competitiveness will depend on correcting structural cost disabilities, deepening domestic component ecosystems, and leveraging anchor investments in components to embed Indian firms more firmly within global production networks”. 

Virmani commended the team for delivering a timely and analytically robust edition, adding that deeper integration into global value chains, particularly in electronics, will be central to sustaining export momentum, enhancing productivity and generating quality employment over the medium term.