India's Indigenisation Drive: A Strategic Push for Self-Reliance in Critical Sectors

What is India's Indigenisation Drive and its immediate triggers?

India's indigenisation drive represents a concerted policy effort to enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities across strategically critical sectors, thereby reducing reliance on imports. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has initiated a fresh push to indigenise 100 items, encompassing both intermediates and capital goods, following extensive discussions with respective ministries (Indian Express, November 2026). This initiative is primarily driven by two immediate geopolitical and economic factors.

Firstly, China's impending export licensing regime, set to take effect from November 18, 2026, for capital goods used in key sectors such as solar equipment and heavy machinery, including tunnel boring machines, has prompted urgent action. This move by China's Ministry of Commerce aims to control the outflow of advanced manufacturing technologies, creating potential supply chain vulnerabilities for countries like India that depend on these imports (Indian Express, November 2026). Secondly, the ongoing West Asia crisis has highlighted the fragility of global supply chains, particularly for essential petrochemical products, leading the government to accelerate plans for their domestic production.

This renewed focus on self-reliance also addresses a significant trade imbalance. India's trade deficit with China has surpassed $100 billion during the current fiscal year, despite India's record pace of imposing anti-dumping measures on Chinese goods (Indian Express, November 2026). The indigenisation drive, therefore, serves as a strategy to bolster economic resilience and strategic autonomy.

Which critical sectors are targeted for self-reliance?

The indigenisation drive targets specific high-value and strategically important sectors, with tailored plans for each.

Solar Manufacturing: India aims to significantly expand its domestic solar manufacturing capacity to reduce dependence on imports across the entire value chain. While India possesses approximately 233 gigawatts (GW) of annual solar module manufacturing capacity, its solar cell manufacturing capacity remains relatively limited at around 30 GW (Industry estimates, November 2026). The gap is even wider further upstream, with only about 2 GW of installed ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity. Given that the country adds about 50 GW of solar power capacity annually, a substantial portion of its module manufacturing industry relies on imported cells, ingots, and wafers (Indian Express, November 2026). In response to China's proposed restrictions on solar manufacturing technologies, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced capacity expansion plans. It has also held stakeholder consultations on guidelines for recycling solar module waste, indicating a comprehensive approach to the sector's sustainability.