From Slogan to Startup Launchpad: How “Make in India” is Creating a New Generation of Manufacturing Entrepreneurs
For years, “Make in India” was perceived by many as a government-led industrial policy—a top-down initiative targeting large multinational corporations and established domestic conglomerates to set up factories. While that aspect continues, a more dynamic and entrepreneurial story has been quietly gaining momentum. In 2024, “Make in India” has evolved into a potent startup and SME launchpad, fueled by a unique convergence of geopolitical tailwinds, production-linked incentives (PLIs), and a growing domestic market hungry for quality. This is no longer just about attracting foreign capital; it’s about empowering a new breed of Indian founders to build globally competitive manufacturing businesses from the ground up, filling critical gaps in the supply chain and turning national ambition into tangible commercial opportunity.
The PLI Catalyst and the Geopolitical Tailwind
Two external forces have transformed the “Make in India” proposition from aspirational to viable.
The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Schem****e: This is the game-changer. By offering financial incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in India across 14 key sectors (like electronics, pharmaceuticals, drones, and specialty steel), the government has directly improved the unit economics of domestic manufacturing. For a startup, this subsidy can be the difference between red and black ink in the crucial early years, allowing them to compete with established, scaled imports on price while they build quality and brand.
The Geopolitical “China+1” Imperative: Global corporations, from Apple to Siemens, are actively diversifying their supply chains away from an over-reliance on China due to trade tensions and pandemic-era disruptions. India, with its democratic credentials, large workforce, and growing technical skill, is a prime beneficiary. This isn’t just about foreign companies coming in; it creates a massive “ancillary and component” opportunity for Indian startups to become certified suppliers to these global giants, integrating into international value chains.
Sunrise Sectors for the Maker-Entrepreneur
The opportunities are not in traditional, low-margin, heavy industries but in technology-driven, precision manufacturing sectors.
Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) & Componentry: The PLI for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing has already made India the second-largest mobile phone producer globally. The next wave is in components: battery packs, displays, camera modules, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and semiconductor assembly. Startups like Boson Quantum Energy (battery packs) are emerging to feed the giant assembly hubs.
Defence & Aerospace: With India aiming for self-reliance (Atmanirbharta) in defence, the government is actively procuring from private players and mandating offsets. This opens doors for startups in drone technology, avionics, specialized textiles, and advanced materials. The barrier is high (certifications, long cycles), but the margins and moats are substantial.
Green Technology & Renewable Energy: The net-zero commitment is driving a manufacturing boom in solar modules, electrolyzers for green hydrogen, advanced energy storage systems, and EV components (beyond just cells, into battery management systems, powertrains, and charging infrastructure). This is a global-scale opportunity with domestic demand anchors.
The White Space: The Component & Ancillary Gold Rush
The most fertile ground for new entrepreneurs lies not in final assembly, but in the layers beneath—the often-imported sub-assemblies, precision parts, and specialty chemicals that go into finished products.
The Import Substitution Thesis: India still imports over $400 billion worth of goods annually, a significant portion being intermediate goods. A startup that can locally manufacture a high-quality precision spring, a specific polymer gasket, or a specialty chemical with a 10-15% cost advantage (aided by PLI and lower logistics cost) has a ready-made market.
Building for Global Standards: The key is to not just make for India, but to manufacture to global quality and certification standards (ISO, AS9100 for aerospace, etc.) from day one. This allows the business to supply to multinationals within India and eventually export, de-risking from a single customer or market.
The Support Ecosystem: Challenges and Emerging Enablers
The path is not without its famous challenges—infrastructure, regulatory clearances, and skilled labor. However, a new support ecosystem is emerging to de-risk the manufacturing entrepreneur.
Industrial Cluster 2.0: Beyond traditional industrial parks, there are now sector-specific clusters with plug-and-play infrastructure (like the Electronics Manufacturing Clusters) and common facility centers for testing and prototyping.
The Rise of “Manufacturing-as-a-Service” (MaaS): Startups like Zetwerk and Groyyo act as matchmakers, connecting small manufacturers with large order books and providing tech for quality control and supply chain visibility. This allows a new entrepreneur to focus on production while the platform handles client discovery and fulfilment logistics.
DeepTech and IIoT: Startups are leveraging Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), AI, and automation from the outset. A small factory can use sensors for predictive maintenance, computer vision for quality inspection, and data analytics for yield optimization, achieving productivity levels that rival larger, less agile incumbents.
Case Study: “Ather Energy” – A Blueprint for the New Maker
While now a well-known EV brand, Ather Energy‘s journey is a masterclass in the new “Make in India” entrepreneurship. They didn’t just design a scooter; they chose to vertically integrate and manufacture core components in-house, including the battery pack, powertrain, and charger.
Deep Manufacturing: They built their own factory in Hosur, focusing on precision and quality control, treating manufacturing as a core competency, not a cost center to be outsourced.
Supply Chain Development: They worked tirelessly to develop a local vendor ecosystem for parts that met their specifications, effectively building a mini-industrial cluster around themselves and uplifting ancillary units.
Product-Led Identity: Their product’s quality and performance, rooted in their manufacturing prowess, became their key brand differentiator in a crowded market.
Ather proved that an Indian startup could design, engineer, and manufacture a complex, tech-intensive product to world-class standards, creating immense intellectual property and supply chain value in the process.
Strategic Imperative: Think “Micro-Multinational” from Day One
The blueprint for the new manufacturing startup is clear:
Identify a Critical Gap: Focus on a component or product with high import dependence and reasonable technical feasibility.
Design for Global Scale: Engineer the product and process to meet international quality benchmarks. Seek necessary certifications early.
Leverage the Policy Stack: Actively structure the business to qualify for relevant PLI schemes, state-level incentives, and export promotion policies.
Embrace Smart Manufacturing: Build a tech-enabled, data-driven factory floor. Efficiency and quality consistency are your defensible moats.
Target Anchor Customers: Approach large OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) setting up shop in India. Becoming a tier-2 or tier-3 supplier provides stable demand and a steep learning curve.
In conclusion, “Make in India” has shed its old skin. It is now a vibrant, opportunity-rich landscape for entrepreneurs with an engineering mindset and a builder’s grit. The government has laid the table with PLI schemes and geopolitical tailwinds. The global corporations are here, looking for partners. The missing piece is the agile, innovative Indian startup that can manufacture to global standards. This is the decade to build not just apps, but atoms; not just software, but sophisticated hardware. The next wave of Indian unicorns will not just be coded in Bengaluru; they will be forged on the factory floors of Hosur, Tirupur, and Pune.
