Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who holds the Electronics and Information Technology portfolio, on Saturday, 23 May 2026, shared remarks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscoring the government's push to build a complete electronics value chain within India, citing record production and large-scale job creation under the Production Linked Incentive scheme.

Context

The post quotes Prime Minister Modi stating, 'हम electronics से जुड़ी complete value chain भारत में ही बना रहे हैं' — 'We are building the complete value chain related to electronics within India itself.' The Prime Minister further noted that the PLI scheme is driving record electronics production in the country while generating jobs for youth 'in the lakhs.' Minister Vaishnaw amplified the remarks, signalling the government's intent to keep the electronics manufacturing momentum in public focus.

Policy Backdrop

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing was first notified in April 2020, initially targeting mobile phones and their components. It was expanded in 2021 to cover IT hardware and additional electronics segments under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The scheme is a cornerstone of the broader Atmanirbhar Bharat framework, which combines targeted incentives, tariff rationalisation, and infrastructure support to reduce India's dependence on electronics imports — particularly from China — and integrate domestic manufacturers into global supply chains.

India's electronics manufacturing push dates to 2014, when the Make in India initiative set an ambition to transform the country into a global manufacturing hub. Successive PLI tranches have since targeted semiconductors, mobile components, and IT hardware, with the stated goal of creating an end-to-end domestic value chain rather than relying on assembly of imported parts.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the PLI scheme's employment dividend are Indian youth, particularly those entering the manufacturing workforce in states with growing electronics clusters. Domestic and multinational electronics manufacturers have been the key investment conduits, with incentive payouts linked directly to incremental production targets. The scheme's design — rewarding output rather than input — is intended to ensure that incentives translate into genuine value addition rather than mere import substitution at the assembly stage.

For the broader economy, a self-sufficient electronics value chain carries strategic significance beyond jobs and output numbers. Reducing import dependence in a sector as critical as electronics — which underpins defence, telecommunications, and consumer technology — is a long-term national security and trade-balance priority that successive budgets have reinforced with fresh allocations.

What's Next

MeitY periodically releases quarterly production and employment data that will be closely watched to substantiate the 'record production' and large-scale job creation claims highlighted in the Prime Minister's remarks. Any fresh PLI tranche announcements — whether in the forthcoming Union Budget or through cabinet decisions — will indicate whether the government plans to deepen incentives or expand the scheme to new electronics sub-segments. Analysts and industry bodies will also track whether the domestic value chain is deepening at the component level, which remains the more challenging frontier compared with final assembly.