India’s telecom manufacturing moves up the value chain

India’s telecom manufacturing ambitions are being shaped by a decade-long continuum of policy initiatives that began with the Make in India programme and have since evolved through production-linked incentives (PLI) and the more recent electronics component-focused schemes. Industry leaders say this consistency has been central to building confidence across both global and domestic value chains.

Over the past 11 years, the Government of India has steadily broadened its manufacturing framework. Initial efforts focused on encouraging domestic production under Make in India, followed by the introduction of PLI schemes that helped accelerate scale across electronics, telecom equipment and consumer devices. The latest addition, the electronics component manufacturing scheme, referred to by industry participants as ECLS, marks a further step towards addressing long-standing structural gaps in India’s supply chain.

Policy continuity and manufacturing scale

Executives across the sector note that these initiatives reflect a predictable policy approach, which has encouraged manufacturers to commit long-term capital and operational resources. Global telecom suppliers such as Ericsson, alongside Indian manufacturers, have expanded local manufacturing and design capabilities, responding to domestic demand as well as broader global supply chain realignments.

The impact of this shift is evident in the scale achieved by Indian manufacturers. ZWork Solutions, which produces telecom and consumer electronic products, reported manufacturing around four million devices across its Indian facilities in a single month. The company inaugurated a new factory in Chennai two quarters ago and has already shipped close to one million devices from the site, pointing to what executives described as the growing maturity of India’s manufacturing ecosystem. ZWork is also among the companies participating in the electronics component scheme, which has seen strong interest from industry.

However, industry leaders acknowledge that much of the growth in equipment manufacturing over recent years has relied on imported kits and assemblies. This has highlighted a missing link in the form of local component manufacturing, particularly for printed circuit boards, power electronics and other critical inputs used in telecom and mobile equipment. The electronics component scheme has been positioned as a response to this gap, with the aim of increasing domestic value addition.

Shift towards components, design and innovation

Executives from the semiconductor and electronics supply chain described this phase as a logical progression of policy. With assembly and system-level manufacturing already established, the focus is now shifting towards components and, increasingly, design. Design capabilities, they argue, account for a significant share of value creation and can anchor India more firmly within global technology ecosystems.

Ericsson’s India leadership noted that the country is no longer merely a downstream consumer of imported technology. Instead, India has emerged as a market where solutions developed and deployed locally can be replicated globally. The company, which has been manufacturing in India since the mid-1990s, identified three factors shaping telecom manufacturing today: the availability of skilled talent, growing confidence in local supply chains, and government support to offset the higher costs of domestic production.

Policy interventions such as PLIs, special economic zones and manufacturing clusters have helped address these cost challenges. However, industry leaders said closer coordination between the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology would further strengthen outcomes, particularly for telecom equipment manufacturing.

Government officials overseeing the component scheme said it has been designed as a cross-sector initiative, covering telecom, automotive electronics, industrial electronics and consumer devices. This approach, they argued, is essential to achieving scale, without which component manufacturers struggle to compete globally. The scheme is also intended to support exports, rather than being limited to domestic demand.

Industry response has exceeded initial expectations. Against an anticipated investment commitment of around USD 7.5 billion, the scheme has reportedly attracted proposals worth USD 40–50 billion. Officials attributed this to extensive stakeholder consultations across product categories, aimed at aligning policy instruments with industry economics.

Beyond manufacturing and components, industry participants repeatedly highlighted the need for greater innovation and product ownership. Designing products, technologies and components locally, they said, would give India greater control over supply chains and reduce vulnerability to geopolitical or logistical disruptions. This, they argued, is central to achieving digital sovereignty, not as isolation, but as deeper and more balanced integration into global value chains.

For the telecom sector specifically, the component scheme covers key inputs such as optical transceivers, printed circuit boards, passive components, electromechanicals, antennas and thermal solutions. Industry participants believe this will strengthen the domestic base for telecom equipment manufacturing and support India’s ambitions as both a production and innovation hub.

As India looks towards 2030 and beyond, industry and government stakeholders broadly agree that the direction is clear. The challenge now lies in executing across design, components and manufacturing in parallel, translating policy continuity into sustained competitiveness across the telecom value chain.