Make in India: Building a self-reliant digital manufacturing base

At the Voice & Data 5G+ Conference, the final session took the form of a fireside chat on “Make in India: Enabling a Self-Reliant Digital India”, moderated by Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia Group.
The conversation featured Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, Super Plastronics, who reflected on India’s evolving electronics manufacturing landscape, the structural shifts triggered over the past decade, and the policy, infrastructure and mindset changes required to build a globally competitive manufacturing base.

Manufacturing in India: A structural shift

Setting the context, Pradeep Gupta highlighted how India’s manufacturing reality today is markedly different from the pre-2020 period. Referring to the scale of electronics manufacturing now underway, he noted that total manufacturing has reached a level that would have been difficult to imagine before the pandemic, with mobile devices forming a significant share of this output.

“Almost 50 per cent of manufacturing is related to the mobile industry,” Gupta observed, adding that exports have also begun to form a meaningful component of this growth.

He pointed to the government’s long-term ambition of expanding manufacturing output substantially by 2030, acknowledging that while value addition remains limited, policy instruments such as the PLI and electronics manufacturing schemes have begun to alter the trajectory.

From manufacturing to trading – and back again

Responding to this, Avneet Singh Marwah traced the historical decline of electronics manufacturing in India to the early 2000s, when global trade regimes and cost structures made imports cheaper than domestic production.

“The biggest difference was that manufacturing in India became more expensive than importing products from China,” Marwah said. As a result, many Indian firms moved away from manufacturing towards trading, leading to the closure of MSMEs and erosion of domestic capability.

He emphasised that reversing this shift was not merely a policy challenge but also a mindset issue. By the time policy focus returned to manufacturing around 2015–16, many entrepreneurs had already seen sustained success through trading models.

“Changing that mindset took almost a decade,” he said.

According to Marwah, the COVID-19 pandemic became a defining moment in resetting national priorities.

“That’s when everyone in the country realised how dependent we were—for devices, screens, connectivity, everything,” he said, noting that even basic communication infrastructure highlighted the risks of external dependence.

This period, he argued, catalysed a stronger push towards product creation and indigenous capability, with industry associations increasingly shifting the conversation from assembly to technology ownership.

R&D as a non-negotiable

Marwah was clear that without sustained R&D investment, Indian brands face long-term vulnerability.

“Any brand not looking seriously at R&D is playing a very short-term game,” he said, pointing to the rapid pace of technological change in connectivity, networks and devices.

Using examples from everyday connectivity challenges and factory infrastructure, he underlined that competitiveness today depends not just on scale, but on continuous innovation.

“Technology is changing really fast. If you don’t have that vision, survival in a country like India becomes difficult,” he noted.

Moving up the value chain

On value addition, Marwah acknowledged progress but cautioned that India still occupies a limited position in the electronics value chain.

“We are moving in the right direction, but value addition is still low,” he said, adding that localisation has begun with lower-investment components such as camera modules, mechanical parts and sub-assemblies.

However, he identified displays and chipsets as the two most critical components, together accounting for over 80 per cent of product value.

“Display is where we missed the bus,” Marwah remarked, explaining that while India has moved into display bonding, the window for large-scale panel fabrication closed due to high capital requirements and missed investment opportunities.

On semiconductors, he described the upcoming fabrication initiatives as a significant strategic step, even if initial phases focus on packaging and specific applications.

“What may look like ‘assembly’ today becomes core manufacturing tomorrow,” he said, drawing parallels with India’s evolution in software and services.

Volume, scale and global competition

Marwah repeatedly returned to the question of scale, stressing that competitiveness against China hinges on volumes.

“The difference today is still volume,” he said. “China has massive scale. We can match pricing and efficiency only when volumes come.”

He also highlighted labour cost advantages and opportunities in smaller components, where entry barriers are lower and global demand is distributed.

“Smaller components are where India should focus first. Investments are lower, and competition is high,” he noted.

Stagnation at the product level

Despite incremental improvements, Marwah expressed concern about stagnation in product innovation globally.

“There is disruption in software and features, but not enough at the product level,” he said, pointing out that form factors and device categories have largely plateaued.

This, he argued, reinforces the need for India to invest in deeper technology development rather than incremental manufacturing alone.

Looking ahead: 2035 over 2047

While national narratives often centre on 2047, Marwah suggested that nearer milestones are more actionable.

“2035 looks more realistic,” he said, stressing that logistics, ports, roads and power infrastructure must improve significantly to support advanced manufacturing.

He also pointed to procedural hurdles, stating that ease of doing business still faces friction at the ground level.

“Even getting a GST number can be a task,” he remarked, adding that implementation often lags policy intent.

Recommendations for policymakers

In closing, Marwah outlined four priorities for policymakers, which are policy stability to provide long-term investment confidence, Infrastructure readiness, including logistics and utilities, Reduction in bureaucratic friction and Greater global exposure for Indian firms.

“Chinese companies export to over 200 countries, including markets most people have never heard of,” he said, stressing that global exposure shapes competitiveness and ambition.

He concluded by reiterating that self-reliance must be built on technology ownership, localisation and integration.

“Manufacturing and brand-building have to go together,” Marwah said. “That is how India can truly become self-reliant.”