India to soon emerge as semiconductor powerhouse, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Sharing data on the Centre's ‘Make In India’ vision to transform India's mobile and electronics manufacturing sector in the last decade, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that India has made significant progress in mobile and electronics manufacturing and has become the world’s 2nd largest mobile manufacturing country. In the near future, says the Union minister, the Centre will focus on advancing deeper into the value chain, particularly in the production of components and semiconductors.

"In 2014, India had only 2 mobile manufacturing units but fast forward to today, the nation boasts over 300 manufacturing units, underscoring a significant expansion in this vital sector," said the minister. In the near future, as per the Union minister, the Centre will focus on advancing deeper into the value chain, particularly in the production of components and semiconductors.

He pointed out that in 2014 -15, only 26% of the mobile phones, which were being sold in India, were made in India, and the rest were being imported. "Today, 99.2% of all mobile phones which are sold in India are made in India. The manufacturing value of mobile phones has surged from ₹18,900 crore in FY14 to a staggering ₹4,22,000 crore in FY24."

The minister explained that more than 325 to 330 million mobile phones a year are being manufactured in India and on average there are about a billion mobile phones in use in India. "Indian mobile phones have virtually saturated the domestic market and that's there's a substantial uptick in the exports of mobile phones. The exports, which were almost non-existent in 2014, have now surpassed ₹1,29,000 crore."

Job Creation in Electronics Manufacturing

The minister also elaborated on the sector's expansion, which he said has been a major employment driver, creating 12 lakh direct and indirect jobs over the decade. "These employment opportunities have not only uplifted the economic status of numerous families but also contributed to the socio-economic fabric of the country."

Under the 'Make in India' initiative, the minister says the domestic production of critical components and sub-assemblies has been enabled and products like chargers, battery packs, mechanics of all types, USB cables, and components like Lithium Ion Cells,  speaker and microphones, display assemblies and camera modules are being developed in the country, he said.

Push for Chips Manufacturing

The minister said that setting up a semiconductor manufacturing base in the country has been an important part of Make in India. "With the launch of the India Semiconductor Mission and the five major projects which have been approved, starting with Micron, the two projects by Tata Electronics, the one project by CG Power, and the last project by Keynes, a real manufacturing base of semiconductors in this country is being established in India," he said.

As part of the Centre's 'Make In India' push, the Union minister says from toys to mobile phones, defence equipment to EV motors, production is shifting back to India.