India’s electronics exports: A surge towards global leadership

In a landmark achievement for India’s manufacturing sector, electronics exports have recorded an all-time high of $38.57 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2024–25. This performance represents a remarkable 32.47% surge over the previous year and signals a powerful transformation in the country’s economic landscape. Moving beyond its traditional role as a key player in the global services industry, India is now asserting its position as a formidable manufacturing and export hub for high-tech goods. The sector’s contribution to the nation’s total merchandise exports has climbed from 6.73% to a substantial 9%, reflecting a structural shift that is both deep and enduring.

This article analyzes the key drivers behind this extraordinary growth, examining the diversification of the export basket, the emergence of regional manufacturing hubs, and the robust policy ecosystem that is laying the groundwork for India’s ambitious future in global electronics.

Electronic exports are experiencing extraordinary growth, fueled by a direct result of a strategic and sustained push by the government and industry. Robust policy support, particularly through initiatives like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, has created an attractive environment for both domestic and international electronics manufacturers. This has been complemented by aggressive investment in building a robust domestic supply chain and fostering a skilled workforce, enabling India to reduce its reliance on imports and become a more competitive global supplier. The synergy between these policy-driven incentives and the industry’s agility has been the primary catalyst, firmly positioning India as a resilient and reliable player in the global technology supply chain, even amidst global trade disruptions.Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted a 47% export surge in Q1 FY 2025-26, crediting the ‘Make in India’ initiative for boosting production from US$ 31 billion to US$ 133 billion over the past decade.

The figures, released by the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), underscore a year of resilience and strategic foresight. The ESC’s Chairman-Global Outreach, Mr. Sandeep Narula, hailed the achievement as a “strategic inflection point,” noting, “This is more than a number—it’s a statement of resilience, innovation, and global ambition.” The growth has been achieved amidst a challenging global trade environment marked by geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and tariff uncertainties, proving that India’s electronics exporters have developed the agility and creative confidence needed to navigate complex global markets.

India’s electronics exports have shown a robust upward trend from 2019 to 2024, with values rising from US$ 15 billion in 2019 to US$ 13 billion in 2020, then recovering to US$ 19 billion in 2021, US$ 27 billion in 2022, US$ 32 billion in 2023, and peaking at US$ 40 billion in 2024. This reflects a CAGR exceeding 20%, with the 2024 surge aligning with the FY24-25 figure of US$ 38.5 billion reported by the ESC, showcasing the sector’s resilience.

This growth is driven by a diversifying product portfolio. Smartphones remain the flagship category, but non-smartphone electronics have surpassed USD 14 billion, encompassing solar panels, telecom equipment, medical electronics, batteries, and digital processing units. For instance, photovoltaic cells contributed USD 1.12 billion, telecom equipment US$ 1.4 billion, and rectifiers, inverters, and chargers over US$ 2.5 billion in FY24-25. Medical electronics added US$ 0.4 billion, while digital processing units and PCs accounted for US$ 0.81 billion. These segments underscore India’s expanding capabilities in energy, healthcare, connectivity, and computing.

A deeper dive into the specific product categories reveals the granular detail of this export surge. The following table, based on the provided data, showcases the remarkable growth of key electronics products.