Keeping an Eye on the Indian EMS Industry Growth Curve

Over the years, India, as an investment destination, has witnessed renewed interest among global as well as domestic EMS players.

- Sudeshna Das

The Indian electronics industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments in the country. Demand for electronics has been rising constantly and is estimated to reach a market size of US$ 400 billion by 2020. Of this, electronics manufacturing service (EMS) is expected to contribute a significant share.

Over the years, India, as an investment destination, has witnessed renewed interest among global as well as domestic EMS players. According to a Frost & Sullivan report, the Indian EMS market is expected to reach a market size of US$ 7.92 billion by 2018. The Indian government is also making earnest efforts to increase domestic manufacturing levels to seize the enormous opportunity presented by the industry.

Considering the importance of EMS, we decided to take a holistic look at how the growing demand impacts this industry. We asked a few questions to senior stakeholders from within the industry as part of our monthly industry poll. In this article we try to get the pulse of the EMS industry in India.

Opportunities galore

Among the survey participants, 97 per cent predict (Fig. 1) that the EMS market in India will be highly dynamic in 2017 since India promises to emerge as a hotspot for electronics manufacturing among the existing South-Asian nations. This is because of benefits like low operating costs and low competitive scenario, which provide ample potential for penetration by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and EMS providers across different sets of verticals.

Survey participants indicate that the top three growth-driving application sectors (Fig. 2) that will need EMS providers in the country will be:

LED lighting

Telecom and mobile devices

Consumer electronics