NITI Aayog unveils a strategic plan targeting a 25% share of manufacturing in India’s GDP by 2047, highlighting new priorities, challenges, and the need for reforms to bolster the sector’s global role.
India is aiming to raise manufacturing’s share of gross domestic product to 25% by 2047, with NITI Aayog setting out a plan built around 12 priority industries that range from automobiles and electronics to steel, defence, chemicals, solar photovoltaics, textiles and pharmaceuticals. The proposal is designed to deepen local value addition, create jobs and help India move further into global supply chains as companies continue to diversify away from concentrated sourcing models.
The think tank’s roadmap, released on 13 August 2026, narrows an initial list of 62 sectors by weighing factors such as strategic importance, export potential, feasibility and the scope for stronger links across the value chain. According to the report, the selected industries also include capital goods, telecom equipment, leather and footwear, and food processing, with each sector assigned a role in strengthening industrial capabilities and reducing reliance on imported inputs.
NITI Aayog says the manufacturing push must be matched by long-term policy consistency and faster reform if India is to emulate the industrial rise seen in South Korea and Vietnam. The report highlights persistent weaknesses, including fragmented logistics, limited domestic content in high-tech products, shortages of skilled workers and dependence on overseas supplies for critical components in areas such as telecom, chemicals and solar equipment.
The timing of the plan matters. Industry data from the India Brand Equity Foundation shows manufacturing contributes about 17% of GDP, while a separate manufacturing tracker from India Briefing says the sector’s share was around 14% in 2025-26, underscoring how different measurement methods can produce varying snapshots of the same economy. Even so, both point to an industry that is still expanding, helped by government support, rising investment and stronger output growth. India’s broader economy is also on a firmer footing, with nominal GDP projected at $4.15 trillion in 2026, according to Worldometer, making the case for a larger industrial base more pressing as the country seeks a greater role in global production.
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