As India marks its 80th Independence Day, the manufacturing sector has emerged as a cornerstone of economic growth, industrial resilience and self-reliance. Driven by the Make in India vision and supported by reforms such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, PM GatiShakti, the National Logistics Policy, BHAVYA and targeted initiatives for electronics and MSMEs, the country has steadily strengthened its position as a leading global manufacturing destination, announced PIB.

PM GatiShakti and the National Logistics Policy have also helped improve infrastructure integration, multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency, making Indian manufacturing increasingly competitive.

Manufacturing now contributes around 16-17% of India’s GDP and provides employment to more than 27 million people. Manufacturing Gross Value Added recorded a CAGR of 10.88% between 2022-23 and 2025-26, while manufacturing output expanded by 7.8% in June 2026.

Merchandise exports rose to ₹3.76 lakh crore ($44.24 billion) in July 2026, compared with approximately ₹3.14 lakh crore ($36.98 billion) a year earlier, underlining the sector’s growing contribution to national prosperity.

India’s defence manufacturing landscape has undergone a historic transformation over the past decade. Indigenous defence production reached a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, representing growth of 15.6% over the previous year and a significant increase from ₹46,429 crore in FY 2014-15.

Defence exports climbed from ₹686 crore in FY 2013-14 to ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26, with Indian-made defence products now reaching more than 80 countries worldwide and recording growth exceeding 5,500% over twelve years.

Public sector undertakings accounted for roughly 76% of defence production in FY 2025-26, while the private sector’s contribution increased to 24%, highlighting expanding private participation. Ten Positive Indigenisation Lists covering 5,521 items had been notified by May 2026, accelerating self-reliance. The Srijan Defence Equipment Empowerment Platform now supports more than 41,000 vendors and approximately 2.7 lakh products, strengthening domestic defence supply chains.

Electronics manufacturing has become one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy. Total electronics production increased from ₹11.32 lakh crore in FY 2024-25 to ₹13.11 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, reflecting annual growth of 15.8%.

Since FY 2014-15, electronics production has expanded from nearly ₹1.9 lakh crore to ₹13.11 lakh crore, while exports have risen from about ₹38,000 crore to ₹4.24 lakh crore. Mobile phone production grew from roughly ₹18,000 crore to ₹6.27 lakh crore, and exports surged from approximately ₹1,500 crore to ₹2.59 lakh crore.

India’s semiconductor ambitions have gathered considerable momentum. The Semicon India Program 1.0, approved in 2021 with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore, laid the foundation for a domestic semiconductor ecosystem.

Building on that effort, SEMICON 2.0 was approved in July 2026 with a budget of ₹1.28 lakh crore. Twelve manufacturing projects worth more than ₹1.64 lakh crore have been approved, including silicon fabrication, silicon carbide fabrication, gallium nitride Micro LED display manufacturing and advanced packaging facilities.

Three approved companies, Micron, Kaynes and CG Semi, have already commenced commercial production, while another facility is expected to begin operations during 2026. Together, these projects are intended to serve sectors ranging from consumer electronics and telecommunications to automobiles, aerospace and industrial manufacturing.

India’s mobile manufacturing success story continues to accelerate. Nearly 99.2% of mobile phones sold domestically are now manufactured within the country, which has become the world’s second-largest mobile phone producer by volume. India has transitioned from a net importer to a net exporter of mobile phones since 2014, with smartphones becoming the country’s largest individual export commodity in FY 2025-26, surpassing petroleum products and gems and jewellery.

The PLI scheme for Large Scale Electronic Manufacturing has attracted investments of around ₹96,000 crore, while domestic value addition reached 23% in FY 2023-24. A new Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme approved in July 2026 carries an allocation of ₹62,500 crore for FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31, offering incentives of 2.25% to 5% and additional support for local sourcing, Indian brands, design capabilities and research and development.

India’s pharmaceutical industry remains one of the world’s most important healthcare suppliers. Ranked third globally by volume and eleventh by value, the country supplies around 20% of global generic medicines and a substantial share of vaccines. The sector recorded a turnover of ₹4.72 lakh crore during 2024-25.

Three pharmaceutical PLI schemes with a combined allocation of ₹25,360 crore have attracted investments exceeding ₹51,997 crore and generated cumulative sales of ₹3.88 lakh crore, including exports worth more than ₹2.43 lakh crore.

Manufacturing capability has been established for 218 APIs, key starting materials and drug intermediates, alongside 57 medical devices, including MRI systems, CT scanners, ultrasound equipment and critical implants.

Medical device exports rose from ₹26,915 crore in 2019-20 to ₹42,360 crore in 2024-25, while domestic manufacturing expanded from ₹28,000 crore to ₹41,500 crore. Three Bulk Drug Parks have been approved in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, while the Biopharma SHAKTI scheme announced in the Union Budget 2026-27 earmarks ₹10,000 crore over five years to strengthen innovation and healthcare manufacturing.

Textiles and apparel continue to play a vital role in industrial development and employment generation. The sector supports more than 45 million livelihoods, making it the second-largest employer after agriculture. Strong raw material availability, integrated value chains and leadership in cotton production and cotton yarn exports provide India with significant competitive advantages.

The textiles sector contributes around 2% of GDP, 11% of manufacturing GVA and 9% of merchandise exports. Textile and apparel exports reached $37.7 billion, equivalent to approximately ₹3.20 lakh crore, in FY 2025, accounting for 4.1% of global textile and apparel exports and making India the world’s sixth-largest exporter. Government initiatives including PM MITRA Parks, the National Technical Textiles Mission, the Textiles Export Promotion Mission, the National Fibre Mission and the Mission for Cotton Productivity are expected to further enhance competitiveness.

The maritime manufacturing sector is also receiving substantial policy support. A comprehensive package worth ₹69,725 crore announced in 2025 aims to strengthen shipbuilding capacity, maritime finance and workforce development. Under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme, ₹19,989 crore has been allocated to raise annual shipbuilding capacity to 4.5 million Gross Tonnage.

Greenfield shipbuilding clusters are planned in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, while existing shipyards are eligible for capital assistance to modernise infrastructure and expand operations. A Maritime Development Fund with a ₹25,000 crore corpus includes a ₹20,000 crore Maritime Investment Fund and a ₹5,000 crore Interest Incentivisation Fund to support long-term sector financing.

An additional ₹24,736 crore has been earmarked under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme. The Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27 with funding of ₹10,000 crore over five years, seeks to expand annual container manufacturing capacity to 7.5 lakh TEUs, around ten times current levels. In July 2026, India unveiled its first domestically manufactured EXIM shipping container for A.P. Moller-Maersk at Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.

India’s automobile industry remains among the strongest globally. The country is the world’s largest market for two-wheelers and three-wheelers and the third-largest market for passenger and commercial vehicles. The sector supports more than 30 million jobs directly and indirectly.

Vehicle production increased from 22.65 million units in FY 2020-21 to 31.03 million units in FY 2024-25, while overall production expanded by nearly 33% between FY 2014-15 and FY 2024-25. The Automobile and Auto Components PLI scheme, with an allocation of ₹25,938 crore, attracted investments of ₹44,326 crore by March 2026 and generated 67,820 jobs.

Electric mobility has received a major boost through the PM E-DRIVE scheme, launched with an outlay of ₹10,900 crore. The initiative targets incentives for approximately 28.30 lakh electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, ambulances and trucks. Funding has also been allocated for 14,028 electric buses, of which 14,000 have already been deployed, alongside ₹2,000 crore for public charging infrastructure.

India’s solar photovoltaic manufacturing sector has expanded rapidly and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17-20% through FY 2030. The domestic market is valued at around ₹32,400 crore, supported by rising demand and large-scale capacity creation.

Solar module manufacturing capacity listed under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers reached 100 GW in August 2025, compared with approximately 2.3 GW in 2014. Solar cell manufacturing capacity increased from less than 1.2 GW to 25 GW by March 2025. The government’s high-efficiency solar PV module PLI scheme, backed by ₹24,000 crore across two phases, has awarded 48 GW of integrated PV manufacturing capacity. Solar PV exports in FY 2024-25 were eight times higher than in FY 2017-18.

Taken together, these developments illustrate the steady expansion of India’s manufacturing capabilities across defence, electronics, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, textiles, maritime industries, automobiles and renewable energy. Backed by sustained policy support, infrastructure improvements, investment inflows and growing private-sector participation, the country is increasingly positioning itself as a globally competitive manufacturing powerhouse while advancing the goal of a stronger and more self-reliant economy.

PIB