India Reshaping Global Commerce
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
Prime Minister Modi’s urging Indians to buy local goods is no longer about shutting the world out; it’s about drawing the world in, on India’s terms. This shift is reshaping global commerce, writes ET Online.
Global corporations aren’t just selling to India anymore, they’re making here. Supply chains are being reconfigured, bargaining power is shifting, and value creation is increasingly localised. Rising global trade tensions are amplifying this trend.
US President Donald Trump has penalised India 50%, citing India’s discounted oil purchases from Russia. New Delhi, however, has stayed its course, signing fresh agreements to deepen economic cooperation with Moscow.
What drives localisation: examples
This “isn’t about exclusion; it’s about control. The emphasis is on who commands capital, sets governance rules, and drives localisation. Foreign investment is welcome, but Indian hands remain firmly on the wheel.”
For example, SAIC, the Chinese parent of MG Motor, reduced its stake in MG Motor India to 49%, while JSW acquired 35%. The remaining 16% is held by Indian investors.
The same playbook is playing out in luxury goods, tech, or manufacturing, Indian companies and partnerships are building scale, meeting domestic demand, and earning global recognition, while keeping profits, decision-making, and influence at home.
One of the clearest examples is Apple’s expanding production footprint in India, a Make in India success story in motion. Government incentives, especially the Production-Linked Incentive scheme, have transformed the country into a hub for high-value electronics manufacturing.
By late 2025, most iPhones sold in the US were made in India, a clear sign the country has become a global production hub, not just a sales market.
Vietnamese EV maker VinFast has made India a launchpad for global expansion. Its new Thoothukudi facility in Tamil Nadu, part of a $500 million first-phase investment in a planned $2 billion expansion, went from groundbreaking to production in just 15 months. The 400-acre factory is explicitly designed for exports across South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
High-value manufacturing is central: Additionally, high-value manufacturing is no longer optional; it’s central. The Tata–PSMC semiconductor fab in Gujarat aims to roll out the first Made in India chip by late 2025, ahead of schedule. Micron’s $2.75 billion assembly and test facility in Sanand is on track, and the Union Cabinet has approved four new semiconductor units with combined investment of ₹4,600 crore.
According to ET Online, India is building strategic, high-value industries from the ground up, creating both domestic capacity and global relevance.
Domestic consumption driving investment
For decades, India was primarily a sales destination. That has flipped. Exports hit $825 billion in FY 2024–25, yet domestic consumption is now driving investment and strategic decisions.
The RBI projects 6.5% GDP growth in FY 2025–26. An Edelweiss report estimates India’s consumer market will be the world’s second largest by 2030. Festive sentiment surveys show 92% of consumers plan to maintain or increase spending in 2025, with average budgets around ₹16,500.
The message is clear: produce for India first. Global firms are adjusting, and India has become a driver of strategy, investment, and production decisions.
India’s advantages
McKinsey highlights three core advantages: talent, consumers, and infrastructure. Trade-flow shifts could bring $0.8–$1.2 trillion by 2030 and raise manufacturing’s GDP share from 16% to 25%.
About one-third of the world’s STEM graduates are Indian. Engineering, R&D, and sourcing could jump from $44–45 billion today to $130–170 billion by 2030.
Infrastructure investments of $1.8 trillion by 2025 are modernising ports and logistics. Monthly household consumption has climbed from $271 in 2012 to $705 in 2023, reflecting India’s massive population and rising GDP.
India’s outbound investments
At the same time, India’s outbound investments are surging and diversifying. In FY25, they jumped 75% to ₹2,51,412 crore ($29.2 billion). Outbound deals aren’t capital flight, they widen market access, bring technology home, and professionalise supplier networks.
In FY26 (April–May 2025), actual ODI reached ₹46,321 crore ($5.38 billion), with Singapore, Mauritius, and the US as top destinations.
The bottom line is that “to stay relevant in one of the world’s most dynamic markets, they are making in India, and seeing the country’s shift from being just a large market to becoming a significant producer.”
