India must deepen electronics capabilities amid geopolitical turbulence: Ashwini Vaishnaw

IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw with IT secretary S Krishnan (left) and MoS Jitin Prasada

Union IT and electronics minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said rising geopolitical tensions and a rapidly shifting geoeconomic landscape have pushed India’s electronics industry to a decisive inflection point, making it imperative to build strong design capabilities, achieve Six Sigma-level quality, and develop resilient domestic supply chains.

He said India has moved beyond the assembly-first era and must now fortify the deeper capabilities required to stay competitive and withstand global disruptions.

Reflecting on the initial skepticism surrounding the Make in India programme, Vaishnaw said the industry has already demonstrated that India can emerge as a major global electronics hub.

He outlined how India’s manufacturing journey began by attracting large companies to assemble finished products in the country, creating domestic scale and market pull. This initial phase enabled the next—developing a component ecosystem. Coordinating closely with industry, the government prioritised a set of critical components essential for long-term competitiveness and launched policies such as the ECMS scheme to support their growth. Approvals under the scheme have risen steadily, a trend he attributed to consistent implementation efforts.

Vaishnaw stressed that deep design capabilities are non-negotiable, noting that global market opportunities will not remain open to manufacturers who lack strong in-house design teams. He urged the department to evaluate applicants for government schemes based on the design competencies they build.

He called for embedding uncompromising quality systems across the electronics value chain, pointing to sectors such as automotive, aerospace, chemicals and pharmaceuticals that have already reached global benchmarks. Newly established quality institutions—including one recently launched with support from Tata Group leadership—must be made accessible to MSMEs so they can raise their standards.

The third priority, he said, is strengthening domestic supply chains. Manufacturers were encouraged to expand sourcing from Indian suppliers and invest in bringing them up the value chain. With global supply chains becoming increasingly fragile amid geopolitical churn, he said India’s manufacturing resilience will depend heavily on the reliability and depth of its local supplier networks.

Vaishnaw added that the government will continue to work with industry on workforce development, including a new electronics manufacturing skilling framework that will tap into private sector capabilities. He said earlier development programmes had expanded opportunities beyond major cities, and that electronics manufacturing could similarly drive broad-based economic growth.

He also highlighted progress on digital governance, including the rollout of simplified, industry-friendly data protection rules. The government is now building a comprehensive digital legal framework to address challenges such as cybersecurity, misinformation and deepfakes, guided by extensive consultations with industry and civil society.

Positioning technology as central to India’s development journey, Vaishnaw urged the industry to remain closely aligned with the government’s efforts. He closed with a call to produce more, produce better, and invest deeply in design and skilled teams to sustain India’s electronics growth story.