Beyond telecom, the policy think tank highlights chemicals, textiles, and solar PV as critical engines to scale up local supply chains and position India as a global manufacturing powerhouse.

Telecom: A $50 billion export opportunity

The domestic telecom hardware industry has reached a decisive turning point. As India targets nationwide digital coverage, a doubled GDP share, and a $1 trillion export economy by 2030 under the National Telecom Policy 2025 (NTP-25), telecom equipment manufacturing will be a central engine powering these goals.

Domestic telecom and network equipment (TANE) market was worth around $25 billion in FY25 and could nearly double to $50 billion by FY32, growing at about 10 per cent annually. Globally, the market is projected to rise from around $498 billion in FY23 to $714 billion by FY30, creating a large export opportunity for Indian manufacturers.

However, India currently exports only $0.6-1 billion of telecom and network equipment a year, compared with $4-5 billion of imports. More than 80 per cent of critical components, including 4G and 5G antennas and signal processors, are sourced from China.

The report said domestic value addition in several products remains below 20 per cent, while manufacturers can face a fiscal cost disadvantage of up to 26 per cent compared with global competitors. The gap can rise to 29 per cent in categories where imported equipment benefits from extended buyer’s credit.

NITI Aayog has called for:

• Deeper localisation of telecom equipment and components
• Technology partnerships between Indian companies and global original equipment manufacturers
• Industrial clusters to strengthen the manufacturing ecosystem
• Stronger testing and certification infrastructure to support global competitiveness

It also identified antennas, remote radio heads, baseband units, optical fibre cables and microwave equipment as export-oriented segments with significant potential.

Other sectors with global potential

The NITI Aayog report also identifies chemicals, textiles and solar PV among the sectors where India could strengthen its position in global manufacturing. Each has a sizeable domestic base, but the report points to opportunities to move into higher-value segments and deepen integration with global supply chains.

Chemicals: Shift towards higher-value products

India’s chemicals industry was valued at $200-220 billion in FY25, making it the world’s sixth-largest chemicals industry and accounting for 3-3.5 per cent of the global market. The report expects the domestic market to grow by 6-8 per cent annually over the next five years and reach $290-310 billion by FY30.

The opportunity is particularly strong in speciality chemicals, where India already has an 8 per cent share of global exports. The report estimates that speciality chemical exports could reach $45 billion by FY30, while inorganic chemical exports could add another $5-10 billion. Petrochemical exports could also rise to $26 billion.

The report calls for greater domestic production of higher-value chemicals to reduce import dependence and deepen India’s role in global value chains.

Textiles: Focus on apparel and technical textiles

Textiles remain one of India’s biggest employment-intensive manufacturing sectors, providing jobs to more than 45 million people. India was the sixth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel in FY25, with a 4.1 per cent share of the global market.

Textile exports reached $37.7 billion in FY25, leaving a significant gap to meet the government’s target of $100 billion by FY30. To close this margin, NITI Aayog points to high-value opportunities in man-made fibres, ready-made garments, and technical textiles. The technical textiles segment alone grew into a $26.8 billion domestic market in FY24, pushing its exports to $2.59 billion—up from $1.99 billion in FY19.

Solar PV: Build a deeper supply chain

India’s solar manufacturing capacity has expanded sharply, with solar module capacity reaching 100 GW by August 2025, up from less than 3 GW in 2014. Solar cell capacity reached 25 GW by March 2025, compared with less than 1.2 GW in 2014.

Domestic demand is expected to remain strong. India had 106 GW of installed solar capacity by March 2025 and needs to add around 174 GW more by 2030 to reach its target of 280 GW.

However, India remains heavily dependent on imports for key inputs. While modules, cells, and some wafers are produced domestically, polysilicon import dependence is close to 100 per cent, while dependence on imported wafers is above 90 per cent. The country also relies on imports for more than 60 per cent of its cell supply and more than 40 per cent of its module supply after accounting for exports.

The report therefore calls for deeper investment across the solar supply chain, including integrated polysilicon-to-module manufacturing, along with stronger research and development and technology capabilities.