India’s electronics production grows seven-fold in a decade, creates 25 lakh jobs: MeitY

New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) India’s electronics manufacturing sector has created nearly 25 lakh jobs over the past decade, while production has increased almost seven-fold, underscoring the country’s emergence as a global manufacturing hub driven by the Make in India initiative, the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) said on Wednesday.

The sector has become one of the fastest-growing sources of industrial employment, with the mobile manufacturing ecosystem alone supporting around 12 lakh direct and indirect jobs across the value chain, it added.

The MeitY said its flagship schemes have generated more than 5.3 lakh jobs, including around 1.8 lakh under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing and another 3.5 lakh through other major government initiatives.

Moreover, women have emerged as a key pillar of the sector’s growth.

They account for nearly 30 per cent of the workforce created in electronics manufacturing over the last decade, while in the mobile phone manufacturing segment they make up nearly 70 per cent of the direct workforce, making it one of India’s most women-intensive manufacturing industries.

The PLI scheme alone has created employment opportunities for around 90,000 women, strengthening female participation in formal manufacturing jobs.

At one of India’s largest electronics manufacturing campuses in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, thousands of young women are engaged in producing smartphones and electronic components for global markets.

Across three major manufacturing facilities operated by a leading electronics manufacturer, nearly 80,000 people are employed, with women constituting around 65 per cent of the workforce.

In addition, electronics production has risen from Rs 1.90 lakh crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 13.11 lakh crore in 2025-26, suggesting nearly seven-fold growth.

Electronics exports have expanded even faster, increasing from Rs 38,263 crore to Rs 4.24 lakh crore during the same period, an eleven-fold rise.

Electronic goods have now become India’s third-largest export category, with exports reaching $47.96 billion in FY26.

Mobile phone production has increased from Rs 18,900 crore in FY15 to Rs 6.27 lakh crore in FY26, a 33-fold rise. During the same period, mobile phone exports surged from Rs 1,566 crore to Rs 2.60 lakh crore, registering an extraordinary 165-fold increase.

The government said the PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing has played a catalytic role in this growth.

As of March 31, 2026, the scheme had attracted cumulative investments of more than Rs 20,600 crore, while cumulative production crossed Rs 11.62 lakh crore and exports exceeded Rs 6.53 lakh crore.

–IANS

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