India's electronics import bill crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time in FY2025–26, reaching a record $116.17 billion, a jump of 17.76 per cent over $98.65 billion in the preceding fiscal year, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
India's total merchandise imports for FY2025–26 were $774.98 billion, up from $721.20 billion in FY2024–25, with the overall merchandise trade deficit widening sharply to $333.19 billion, up from $283.50 billion the previous year. Electronics, at $116.17 billion as reported by agencies, accounted for roughly 15 per cent of all merchandise imports, making it one of the largest import categories and widening the deficit.
The Centre's flagship Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme seemed to have helped matters. Electronics exports grew 24.7 per cent to $48.0 billion, driven primarily by smartphone shipments, and India has now emerged as the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. But the gap between what India exports, i.e., around $48 billion, and what it imports ($116.17 billion) in electronics alone is a $68 billion cause of worry.
Economic think tank GTRI told media that India's high electronics imports underlined the nation's dependence on imported components despite the manufacturing push.
India's domestic electronics manufacturing still relies overwhelmingly on imported components, flat panel displays, memory chips, printed circuit boards, and microprocessors, primarily from China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore. Domestic value addition in electronics currently stands at just 18–20 per cent.
However, the latest Budget 2026–27 announced the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and expanded the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) with an outlay of ₹40,000 crore, with the goal of building domestic supply chains for the chips and components that currently make up the bulk of India's electronics import bill.
