Electronics: The assembly boom, the component gap

China still powers India’s strategic industries. A four-part series maps the dependencies — and the road out

- OJASVI GUPTA & URVI MALVANIA

INDIA'S ELECTRONICS EXPORTS hit a record nearly $48 billion in FY26, cementing the country’s emergence as a global smartphone manufacturing hub. Smartphones alone accounted for over $31 billion of exports, driven by Apple’s expanding manufacturing footprint and rising shipments to the US and Europe.

Yet, the export success masks a deeper reality: much of the value inside those devices still comes from China. Semiconductor chips, display assemblies, camera modules, printed circuit board inputs, connectors, sensors, manufacturing equipment and several industrial inputs continue to be imported, underscoring the gap between assembling electronics and building a self-sustaining manufacturing ecosystem.