For decades, India operated as the world’s back-office and factory floor for other people’s brands. We wrote the code, assembled the devices and delivered the services, while the real profits stayed with global OEMs like Apple, Samsung, Dell, HP and LG. Indian companies, despite strong talent and scale, remained stuck in low-value activities such as EMS, assembly and labour-heavy work.
That pattern is finally shifting. India’s electronics industry has grown from about $45 Bn to more than $115 Bn in ten years, although value addition is still only around 21%. By 2030, categories like smartphones, consumer electronics, automotive electronics, defence electronics and medical devices could push the sector towards $450 Bn. Policy support, supply-chain realignment, engineering depth and rising domestic demand are accelerating this shift, and India now recognises that relying on foreign technology creates real economic and strategic risk.
To understand this transition better, Manish Sharma (Former Chairman Panasonic India) and Sanjay Nayak (Co-founder Tejas Networks, Ex-CEO & MD) joined Yash Kela and Nishchal Mittal from Singularity for a detailed conversation. The insights from their journeys, including near-death moments and long-term learning, offer a real blueprint for what India must solve next.