India becomes a sweet spot for electronics manufacturing. Here’s why

In this rapidly changing geopolitical environment, India has emerged as one of the sought-after places among the many major electronic manufacturing hubs in South Asia. 

Apple is perhaps the most visible symbol of this shift. Once heavily reliant on China, the Cupertino-based iPhone maker now assembles a growing share of its iPhones in India through contract manufacturers like Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. 

Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal said that Apple currently manufactures 5–7% of its iPhones in India and aims to scale that up to 25% of global production in the coming years, Reuters reported.

According to research firm Cybermedia Research, in the first half of 2025, Apple’s iPhone exports from India touched 22.88 million units—$22.56 billion worth of iPhones compared to $14.71 billion a year earlier.

This ramp-up has created ripple effects across the supply chain, boosting demand for local components, accessories, and allied services.

Over the last few years, from smartphones to wearables, global players are setting up shop in India—driven by government incentives, supply chain diversification, availability of skilled labour, large domestic market, and low-cost labour.

Earlier this year, audio and wearables brand QCY entered the Indian market, with plans to set up one of its largest manufacturing facilities in Manesar, Haryana. The Chinese company eyes a $75–100 million market share by 2026, while expanding offline retail to tap into India’s growing appetite for wearables.

QCY is a leading global TWS and personal audio brand, operating in over 30 countries. The company delivers creative, effortless audio experiences backed by more than 160 patents in areas such as Bluetooth stacks, ANC design, acoustic simulation, wearable engineering, app integration, and antenna optimisation.

London-based Nothing has also chosen India as a strategic base for manufacturing its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Phone 3—its first ‘Made-in-India’ product. Its Chennai manufacturing unit employs over 500 people, 95% of whom are women, underlining how electronics manufacturing is creating inclusive jobs.

In fact, according to a Fortune India report, Apple’s suppliers—Foxconn in Tamil Nadu and Tata Electronics in Karnataka—have, within the last three years, hired 42,000 and 31,000 direct employees, respectively, nearly 70% of which are women.

Meanwhile, homegrown players like Mivi, boAt, and Noise are also scaling aggressively. 

Founded by Midhula and Viswanadh Devabhaktuni, Mivi operates one of India’s largest homegrown audio manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad. In February this year, it announced plans for a second unit to expand capacity and meet rising demand.

boAt, under the leadership of Aman Gupta, said in 2023 that 70% of its audio devices are now manufactured in India, in partnership with Dixon Technologies and facilities that help domestically produce over 60 million units annually. Further, Noise approximately produces 95% of its products in India.

Why India is rising as a manufacturing powerhouse

India’s electronics manufacturing push is not a coincidence; it stems from deliberate policy interventions and market shifts. With rising geopolitical tensions and supply chain risks nudging companies to diversify beyond China, India has emerged as a strong alternative, offering scale, engineering talent, and regulatory support.

Government schemes have further tilted the scales. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme alone has attracted over Rs 1.76 lakh crore in investments and created more than 1.2 million jobs. 

Newer schemes like the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) and a Rs 25,000 crore PLI for components are expected to drive $50–60 billion in production over the next five years. 

The Union Budget 2025 also projects that India’s electronics output will double to $200 billion within three to four years, aided by tariff rationalisation and support for assembly and testing infrastructure.

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Recent investments add weight to this narrative: QCY’s Manesar facility and Indigrid Technology’s EV electronics unit in Noida showcase how different segments of the ecosystem are expanding in parallel. 

At the same time, special economic zone (SEZ) reforms and state-level incentives are enabling component manufacturing clusters across Gujarat, Odisha, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh.

The road ahead

With India’s wearable tech market expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2024 to $1.5 billion by 2026, and premium smartphones gaining traction, the country is now more than just a consumption market; it is becoming an export-oriented hub for global electronics. 

As policy, infrastructure, and private capital converge, India is steadily building the foundations to rival traditional hubs and emerge as a key node in global supply chains.