Why in News?
The Government of India's flagship 'Make in India' initiative completed 12 years since its launch on 25 September 2014. While official data highlights massive production gains in electronics, defence, automobiles, steel and pharmaceuticals, analysts point to a "patchy performance" regarding manufacturing's share of the economy, private investment and job creation.
About the 'Make in India' Initiative
- Launch: 25 September 2014, with the ambition of transforming India into a global hub for manufacturing, design and innovation.
- Core Philosophy: 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' — to facilitate investment, foster innovation and build world-class infrastructure.
- Make in India 2.0 (February 2021): Expanded the initiative to 27 priority sectors — 15 in manufacturing and 12 in services.
Major Achievements
Electronics & Mobile Manufacturing
- Electronics production rose nearly sevenfold — from Rs 1.9 lakh crore (2014-15) to Rs 13.11 lakh crore (2025-26).
- Under the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), India became the world's 2nd-largest mobile phone manufacturer, with 99.2% of domestically used phones made in India.
- In 2025, smartphones became India's largest exported product category.
Automotive Industry
- Total vehicle production reached 31.03 million units in 2024-25 — a 33% increase over 2014-15.
- Between 2020-21 and 2024-25: passenger and commercial vehicle output grew 65% each, three-wheelers 71%, two-wheelers 30%.
Defence Indigenisation
- Value of indigenous defence production grew by ~283%.
- HAL operationalised its third LCA Tejas Mk1A assembly line (October 2025), raising annual capacity to 24 jets, plus a second production line for the indigenous HTT-40 trainer aircraft.
Heavy Industries & Steel
- Crude steel production more than doubled — from 81.7 million tonnes (2014-15) to 170.0 million tonnes (2025-26).
Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices
- India ranks 3rd globally in pharmaceutical volume and 11th in value; annual turnover touched Rs 5,08,630 crore in 2025-26 (9.2% average annual growth over 5 years).
- Domestic medical device manufacturing expanded 48.2% (2019-25).
- Key breakthroughs:
- Trastuzumab Emtansine — world's first biosimilar antibody-drug conjugate for breast cancer.
- Docaravimab-Miromavimab — world's first monoclonal antibody cocktail against rabies.
- Miqnaf — India's first domestically developed macrolide antibiotic in 30 years (pneumonia).
- Desidustat — novel oral chemical entity for anaemia in chronic kidney disease.
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes
- Across 14 sectors, PLI schemes attracted Rs 2.6 lakh crore investment, generated Rs 23.8 lakh crore in production/sales (as of June 2026) and created 14.6 lakh jobs.
Space-Grade Semiconductors
- ISRO and the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) developed:
- VIKRAM3201 — India's first space-qualified launch-vehicle microprocessor fabricated at SCL.
- KALPANA3201 — open-source, flight-tested microprocessor.
Critical Materials & Other Sectors
- Pilot plant for sintered Neodymium-Iron-Boron (Nd-Fe-B) rare-earth permanent magnets commissioned at ARCI Hyderabad (March 2026) — supports EV, wind turbine and robotics supply chains.
- Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) delivered its eighth domestic batch of steam-generator tubes for 700 MW nuclear reactors; Rail Wheel Factory produced over 2.10 lakh wheels and 1.20 lakh wheelsets in 2025-26.
Deepening Manufacturing Initiatives
| Scheme | Key Features |
|---|---|
| PLI for Specialty Steel (PLI 1.2) | Super alloys, CRGO steel, stainless steel, titanium alloys, coated steels |
| Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets Scheme | Integrated manufacturing of NdFeB-type magnets |
| Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana (BHAVYA) | Investment-ready, world-class industrial parks |
| Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) | Scale up production, deepen value addition, strengthen supply chains |
| Semicon 2.0 | Long-term semiconductor ecosystem support — design, manufacturing, packaging, materials, R&D, talent |
| BHAVYA Rasayan | Dedicated chemical parks |
Concerns Regarding Make in India
- Stagnant GVA Share: Target was 25% of GDP; manufacturing's share in GVA rose only marginally from 14.6% (2022-23) to 15.6% (2025-26) under the revised national accounts series.
- Stagnant Global Export Share: Non-petroleum goods exports rose from USD 253.5 billion (2014-15) to USD 388.3 billion (2025-26), but India's share of global merchandise exports remains stuck at ~1.7% — the same as 2013.
- Sluggish Private Investment: Private-sector Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) as a share of GDP has declined in recent years.
- FDI Disparities: Manufacturing FDI grew slower than overall FDI in 7 of the last 12 years.
- Weak Employment Generation: Broad-based manufacturing job growth remains missing, failing to absorb the demographic dividend exiting agriculture.
Way Forward
- Component Localisation: Move beyond final assembly; expand Design-Linked Incentives (DLI) to upstream components — semiconductor wafers, APIs, rare-earth magnets.
- Plug-and-Play Frontier Tech Parks: Execute the planned 20 parks under the National Manufacturing Mission (NMM) with shared Industry 4.0 infrastructure (IoT, AI testbeds, digital twins) for MSMEs.
- Boost Private R&D: R&D expenditure is stagnant at 0.64% of GDP; introduce deep tax credits and Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for advanced materials, robotics and clean-tech.
- Logistics Integration: Use the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to physically integrate manufacturing zones with ports and dedicated freight corridors.
Conclusion
Make in India has built a strong manufacturing foundation, but global manufacturing leadership requires deeper domestic value chains, lower logistics costs, stronger R&D and greater indigenous innovation.
Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Prelims (2012): Recent policy initiatives to promote manufacturing — National Investment and Manufacturing Zones, single window clearance, Technology Acquisition and Development Fund — Answer: All of the above.
Mains (2019): "Success of 'Make in India' program depends on the success of 'Skill India' programme and radical labour reforms." Discuss.