Success in electronics manufacturing is no longer about assembly; it is about owning the technology, building locally, and designing for real-world Indian conditions.
Mindgrove Technologies Private Limited is a semiconductor company focused on building microprocessors and microcontrollers. Based out of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Research Park in Chennai, the company launched its first product last year, Secure IoT, a high-performance 700MHz microcontroller. The team is now entering volume production for this product, and it is expected to be available in the market later this year. Ideally, the chip would sit quietly inside a product, unnoticed until the product is opened.
While Mindgrove builds chips, this discussion is not limited to microprocessors and microcontrollers. It is about what comes downstream in the product ecosystem.
One clear example is the evaluation board developed for the chip. It is a high-density board with a 0.5mm ball grid array (BGA) pitch. This was considered to be at the threshold of what should be possible within India. However, it took months to perfect the design, with extensive back-and-forth with printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers. Manufacturing in India was required due to the long design cycle times involved when working outside the country. What became apparent through this process was a lack of urgency in handling work that goes beyond basic technological requirements.
Why electronics manufacturing in India matters
India imports crude oil, gold, and electronics, which creates a significant foreign exchange deficit. This vulnerability became very evident during the COVID-19 crisis and again during the global semiconductor shortage. In one instance, a car delivery was delayed by eleven months, not because the vehicle was incomplete, but because the infotainment system was unavailable.
This dependence raises fundamental questions about how industries can grow their bottom line, contribute to gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and create jobs while relying on external supply chains. There is also a security dimension. In Mindgrove’s own work, security was built into the chip from the outset, which attracted strong interest from governments and strategic users.
India also has a vast internal market. If domestic needs are met, an export market naturally follows. With a population of 1.4 billion, India represents an unmatched testing ground, covering a full spectrum of lifestyles, use cases, and climatic conditions. If a product can function reliably in India, it can function anywhere in the world.
The current state of the ecosystem
India today has a $100 billion electronics production industry. 99% of mobile phone final assembly now takes place in the country, which was not the case just two years ago. However, approximately 65% of the components used in those phones are still imported. Ideally, local content should be closer to 80-85%. What exists today is largely low-value assembly, which is insufficient if India is to move up the value chain.
Supply chain resilience requires the ability to build entire products domestically. Let us take a disassembled smartwatch from the office as an illustrative example. The key question was not whether it could be assembled, but whether it could actually be built. This led to deeper questions about which components are built in India, which have Indian-owned intellectual property, and which could realistically move in that direction in the near future.
Some components, such as processors, system-on-chips, and sensors, are expected to be available by 2025. NOR flash may not be manufactured locally, but it can be assembled at facilities such as Micron’s Gujarat plant. Oscillators and antennas already benefit from strong expertise within India. Research on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is advanced, and startups supported by design-linked incentives are working on commercialisation.
Performance varies by product category. India performs well in industrial products such as electrical meters, panels, switches, and cabling, but struggles in wearables and advanced components, particularly memory.
Strengths, gaps, and opportunities
India’s manufacturing ecosystem can produce almost anything. The high-density interconnect board discussed earlier demonstrates this. The design was completed entirely in Chennai, manufactured in Gurugram, assembled and tested in Chennai, and shipped to customers in India and abroad. Vendors capable of similar work exist in Bangalore and Gujarat. This ecosystem is growing at approximately 35% year-on-year, supported by a large internal market and a strong talent pool.
The weaknesses are equally clear. Limited fab capability extends beyond silicon foundries. It includes PCB fabrication and, most critically, testing. India has low-scale manufacturing and very high-end manufacturing, but lacks the medium-scale capability to produce high-technology products reliably at scale. High-tech prototyping, product proving, and component availability remain underdeveloped.
Another challenge is talent development. While India has a large talent pool, much of it is trained on curricula that are decades old. In addition, India has historically followed global product trends rather than leading new product development. This mindset is beginning to change, and forums like this play an important role in enabling that shift.
There is also a major opportunity in frugal innovation. A chip commonly assumed to require a $20 to $30 million investment was built for under $2 million, not because of lower salaries, but because of different design approaches. This strength should be applied to high-technology innovation, not just low-cost products.
Scaling locally for long-term resilience
Imports are often seen as cheaper because of volume, but when all factors are considered, local manufacturing can be more cost-effective. The same PCB discussed earlier turned out to be cheaper to manufacture in India due to the absence of import duties, lower shipping costs, faster problem-solving, and higher yields, which significantly reduce costs at scale.
The bigger challenge is creating conditions that allow skilled professionals to build long-term careers in India. Risk-taking is essential, whether it involves taping out expensive chips or investing in new capabilities. Certification remains a major bottleneck, as the current ecosystem is either too weak or too slow even for domestic markets. Large companies must also rethink local purchasing, as foreign validation should no longer be a prerequisite.
There is a strong case for engaging with local alternatives. Local suppliers offer flexibility, close collaboration, and deeper integration support. While local components may take longer initially, the long-term benefits at scale are substantial.
Processors, systems-on-a-chip (SoCs), and microcontrollers are already being developed in India and are expected to be available this year. Precision motors are likely to follow, while specialised sensors, computing modules, high-density batteries, and high-density PCBs are already in development or available. While some of these are costlier during prototyping, they become cheaper at volume due to faster throughput and higher yields.
That is the stage India must reach to realistically build 90% of a finished product domestically.
Closing the gaps in the ecosystem
High-density PCBs are already available in India, and while they are more expensive at the prototyping stage, they become cheaper at scale due to faster throughput, lower substrate costs, and higher yields. As manufacturing moves from small batches to volume production, economies of scale begin to eliminate many of the challenges that exist today.
That is ultimately the transition India must make. The goal is not just to assemble products, but to build the capability to design, validate, certify, and manufacture most of a product domestically. When the ecosystem can reliably support medium-scale, high-tech manufacturing, building 90% of a finished product in India ceases to be an aspiration and becomes a practical reality.
The article is based on the opening speech of IEW 2025 called ‘Taking Electronics Products from 70% to 90% Indian While Maintaining Quality & Price,’ by Shashwath Thirukkarugavoor Ramkumar, Co-founder and CEO at Mindgrove Technologies Private Limited. It has been transcribed and curated by Vidushi Saxena, Journalist at EFY.
