Mumbai: India's telecom manufacturing industry is expanding beyond technology assembly towards creating indigenous designs and AI-driven technologies, underscoring a government push to lessen import reliance and boost exports amid global geopolitical upheavals and their impact on supply chains.
"Policy levers like PLI (production-linked incentives) and design-led incentives are drawing OEMs (original equipment makers) to localise production and R&D. The opportunity is two-fold: strengthen supply chain sovereignty, and capture global demand from emerging markets," said Vinish Bawa, partner and telecom leader at PwC India. Bawa, however, emphasised that achieving success would depend on investments in advanced semiconductor packaging, testing centres, and research and development infrastructure instead of solely aiming for production volume increases.
"India's competitiveness will hinge on moving beyond assembly to value-rich layers like chip design, packaging, and testing," said Bawa. He added that the PLI scheme for telecom hardware and the National Telecom Policy 2025 should reward R&D and innovation rather than just equipment production.
In addition to global gear makers such as Ericsson and Nokia, domestic and other global manufacturers too are bolstering their indigenous capabilities.
Nikhil Nanda, founder and managing director of JHS Svendgaard Laboratories said his company has been consistently investing up to 5% of profits into R&D for developing new products and formulations.
The company expects to fetch 95% of revenue from domestic production by 2027 and is targeting 30-40% of revenue from exports by the same period, primarily from European and American markets.
However, Nanda also pointed to challenges, noting that "India still relies heavily on raw material imports, mainly from China, which affects our price competitiveness."
"Turning a ship around takes four hours in Singapore versus four days in Mumbai. Such delays increase costs and risks like pilferage," he said, underlining the need to further improve infrastructure.
Rajesh Mishra, co-founder and CEO of US-based A5G Networks, said the company has established R&D hubs in Pune and Bengaluru, focusing on autonomous mobile core software and AI-driven edge intelligence. "100% of our India revenue is driven by products designed, coded, and manufactured in India," he said.
The company exports to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and North America.
Frog Cellsat, an Indian telecom equipment maker, designs and manufactures coverage solutions including digital repeaters and distributed antenna systems entirely in India through its inhouse R&D team.
"Global shifts are accelerating India's role as a trusted manufacturing hub," said Konark Trivedi, founder and MD at Frog Cellsat. "With the government's PLI schemes and local design capabilities, companies like Frog Cellsat are well-positioned to supply both domestic and global markets. This realignment gives Indian manufacturers greater leverage in quality, cost, and innovation leadership."
Aniruddha Mehta, chairman and MD at Umiya Buildcon, a networking equipment maker, said the company is planning to invest ₹25-30 crore in R&D with a team of 45-50 engineers developing network operating systems, hardware design, and AI-driven network management solutions. "Our 1G switches and media converters are indigenous in both design and manufacturing. Our teams are now working on 10G to 100G switches," Mehta said.
The company is building an electronics manufacturing plant in Karnataka and is aiming for 30-35% revenue from exports by FY28, focusing on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets.
Karn Nagpal, president of Sensorise Smart Solutions and Rosmerta Technologies said the company plans to accelerate indigenous R&D, particularly in eSIM lifecycle management, secure IoT modules, and telecom compliance platforms aligned with MTCTE and GSMA standards between 2025 and 2028. "Our aim is to build products that are not just made in India, but built on Indian IP," he said.
The company has invested more than ₹25 crore to develop a platform earlier this year and is expanding in-house test labs and strengthening partnerships with IITs, IIITs, and private incubators.
"Policy levers like PLI (production-linked incentives) and design-led incentives are drawing OEMs (original equipment makers) to localise production and R&D. The opportunity is two-fold: strengthen supply chain sovereignty, and capture global demand from emerging markets," said Vinish Bawa, partner and telecom leader at PwC India. Bawa, however, emphasised that achieving success would depend on investments in advanced semiconductor packaging, testing centres, and research and development infrastructure instead of solely aiming for production volume increases.
"India's competitiveness will hinge on moving beyond assembly to value-rich layers like chip design, packaging, and testing," said Bawa. He added that the PLI scheme for telecom hardware and the National Telecom Policy 2025 should reward R&D and innovation rather than just equipment production.
In addition to global gear makers such as Ericsson and Nokia, domestic and other global manufacturers too are bolstering their indigenous capabilities.
Nikhil Nanda, founder and managing director of JHS Svendgaard Laboratories said his company has been consistently investing up to 5% of profits into R&D for developing new products and formulations.
The company expects to fetch 95% of revenue from domestic production by 2027 and is targeting 30-40% of revenue from exports by the same period, primarily from European and American markets.
However, Nanda also pointed to challenges, noting that "India still relies heavily on raw material imports, mainly from China, which affects our price competitiveness."
"Turning a ship around takes four hours in Singapore versus four days in Mumbai. Such delays increase costs and risks like pilferage," he said, underlining the need to further improve infrastructure.
Rajesh Mishra, co-founder and CEO of US-based A5G Networks, said the company has established R&D hubs in Pune and Bengaluru, focusing on autonomous mobile core software and AI-driven edge intelligence. "100% of our India revenue is driven by products designed, coded, and manufactured in India," he said.
The company exports to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and North America.
Frog Cellsat, an Indian telecom equipment maker, designs and manufactures coverage solutions including digital repeaters and distributed antenna systems entirely in India through its inhouse R&D team.
"Global shifts are accelerating India's role as a trusted manufacturing hub," said Konark Trivedi, founder and MD at Frog Cellsat. "With the government's PLI schemes and local design capabilities, companies like Frog Cellsat are well-positioned to supply both domestic and global markets. This realignment gives Indian manufacturers greater leverage in quality, cost, and innovation leadership."
Aniruddha Mehta, chairman and MD at Umiya Buildcon, a networking equipment maker, said the company is planning to invest ₹25-30 crore in R&D with a team of 45-50 engineers developing network operating systems, hardware design, and AI-driven network management solutions. "Our 1G switches and media converters are indigenous in both design and manufacturing. Our teams are now working on 10G to 100G switches," Mehta said.
The company is building an electronics manufacturing plant in Karnataka and is aiming for 30-35% revenue from exports by FY28, focusing on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets.
Karn Nagpal, president of Sensorise Smart Solutions and Rosmerta Technologies said the company plans to accelerate indigenous R&D, particularly in eSIM lifecycle management, secure IoT modules, and telecom compliance platforms aligned with MTCTE and GSMA standards between 2025 and 2028. "Our aim is to build products that are not just made in India, but built on Indian IP," he said.
The company has invested more than ₹25 crore to develop a platform earlier this year and is expanding in-house test labs and strengthening partnerships with IITs, IIITs, and private incubators.
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