New Delhi: India’s manufacturing journey is entering a transformative phase. The think-tank NITI Aayog has launched a detailed strategic roadmap titled “Reimagining Manufacturing: India’s Roadmap to Global Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing” outlining how the country will harness frontier technologies to achieve manufacturing dominance.
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While the “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” eras laid the foundations, this roadmap charts a focused path for advanced manufacturing—making it future-ready, globally competitive and growth-driven. The release comes at a time when manufacturing’s share in India’s GDP has stagnated and the global manufacturing landscape is rapidly evolving.
Key Details of the Reimagining Manufacturing Roadmap
The roadmap was unveiled by the NITI Aayog Frontier Tech Hub in collaboration with leading institutions such as Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte India, with inputs from 100+ experts across government, industry and academia.
It identifies four high-impact enablers:
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI/ML)
- Advanced Materials
- Digital Twins
- Robotics
These enablers are mapped across 13 priority manufacturing sectors for targeted interventions.
Goal of the Reimagining Manufacturing Roadmap
The goal is to raise manufacturing contribution to over 25 % of India’s GDP, create more than 100 million jobs, and place India among the top three global hubs for advanced manufacturing by 2035.
The roadmap warns of a shrinking opportunity: if India fails to adopt frontier technologies in key sectors, it may lose US$ 270 billion by 2035 and up to US$ 1 trillion by 2047 in additional manufacturing GDP.
The plan spans a 10-year strategic horizon, emphasising strengthening of R&D ecosystems, industrial infrastructure, workforce development, and scaled deployment of frontier technologies in a sector-specific manner.
Importance of Reimagining Manufacturing Roadmap
The manufacturing sector is a critical driver of economic growth, job creation and export capability. With global supply chains shifting and advanced manufacturing becoming a competitive battleground, India’s manufacturing competitiveness needs a step-change.
The roadmap signals a clear move from incremental reform to accelerated transformation.
By aligning frontier tech with manufacturing, India can leapfrog legacy constraints such as infrastructure gaps, skill shortages and fragmented value chains.
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The potential 100 million jobs and 25 % GDP share target emphasise the scale of ambition. Furthermore, by 2035 India intends not just to compete, but to lead in advanced manufacturing.
Reimagining Manufacturing Roadmap Structure & Focus Areas
1. Sector-Focused Pathways: The document maps frontier tech enablers to 13 priority manufacturing sectors (such as electronics, automobiles, materials, etc) to deliver high impact.
2. Ecosystem Strengthening: Strong focus on creating world-class R&D infrastructure, modern industry clusters, robust supply chains, and global-scale innovation systems.
3. Workforce & Skills: Developing a future-ready workforce with new skills aligned to AI, robotics, digital twins and other advanced manufacturing tools.
4. Deployment of Frontier Tech: Encouraging scaled industrial adoption of advanced materials, digital twin systems, robotics & automation, AI/ML driven manufacturing processes.
5. Timeline & Metrics: The 10-year roadmap sets clear milestones towards 2035 and 2047 (Viksit Bharat) and quantifies the cost of missed opportunities.
6. Collaborative Implementation: Developed via collaboration between government, industry (CII), consulting partner (Deloitte), and academia, making it a whole-ecosystem initiative.
Potential Impact & Challenges on Reimagining Manufacturing Roadmap
Impact:
- If realised, the manufacturing sector could one day contribute more than 25 % of GDP (from current ~15-17% levels) and generate over 100 million quality jobs by 2035.
- India could emerge as one of the top three advanced manufacturing hubs globally, enhancing exports, reducing import dependency, and driving “Made in India” global competitiveness.
- The use of frontier technologies will help India move up the value chain, improve productivity, and future-proof the manufacturing ecosystem against global disruptions.
Challenges:
- Infrastructure gaps, regulatory bottlenecks, supply-chain fragmentation and skill mismatch remain major hurdles. Historical attempts to lift manufacturing share have made limited progress.
- Adoption of frontier technologies at scale requires investment, cultural shift and industrial readiness.
- States and industry must align quickly; the risk of missing the window could cost India heavily (US$ 270 billion by 2035) if delayed.
- Ensuring inclusive growth across regions, MSMEs and workforce segments will be vital for the mission’s success.
What’s Next & Way Forward
- Implementation will begin with flagship programmes and pilot clusters aligned to the 13 priority sectors.
- States will play a central role, for example, Maharashtra has committed to align fully with this national mission.
- Over the next few years, metrics will be set, progress tracked, and outcomes measured to ensure the roadmap stays on course towards 2035.
- Strengthening collaboration between centre, states, industry associations, academia and innovation ecosystems will be key to translating strategy into reality.
