Electronics now third largest export category, next target second rank: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Electronics has emerged as India’s third-largest export category and the government is working on making it the second largest, electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Wednesday.

“The prime minister has taken up a clear mission, that we have to become a trusted manufacturing partner for the world,” Vaishnaw said, noting that electronics became the third-largest export category in 2025-26 behind petroleum products and chemicals. The domestic electronics manufacturing industry is now worth Rs 13 lakh crore, he added.

The minister was speaking at the inauguration of American electronics manufacturing services firm Jabil’s new advanced facility in Pune. The high-tech plant will manufacture components of AI data centres, as well electronics components for telecom, railways and other sectors.


Electronics exports rose 11.62% year-on-year in May to $5.09 billion despite the supply chain disruption caused due to the US-Iran war, according to official figures, ET reported on Tuesday. While shipments to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) slowed, shifting trade flows moving towards the United States pushed up cumulative electronics exports 24.4% to $10.27 billion in the first two months of FY27.

Detailed export data, last available for April, shows India exported electronics worth $5.17 billion, of which smartphone shipments made up 73.8% or $3.42 billion. Smartphones remain the largest chunk of electronics exports and the US accounted for $2.93 billion or 57.5% of all electronics exports. Overall, petroleum products ($9.75 billion) and chemicals ($5.23 billion) had higher category wise export earnings.

Vaishnaw also noted that two of the semiconductor plants approved under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) have already begun commercial production while the next plant will be inaugurated in July. The fourth plant will be fully functional for commercial manufacturing by December, he added.

CG Semi, a joint venture between CG Power, Renesas Electronics and Stars Microelectronics, is expected to start production at its Sanand facility next month, followed by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT) facility at Jagiroad in Assam in December.

Assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) units of Micron Technology and Kaynes Semicon, both located in Sanand, began commercial production in February and March, respectively.