According to a report by Avendus Capital, India’s domestic manufacturing of bare printed circuit boards (PCBs) is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45 per cent through the financial year 2029 (FY29). The expansion is being driven by rising electronics demand, policy support from the government and an industry-wide shift towards higher-value, complex PCBs.
The report notes that India’s bare PCB market is currently valued at $5 billion, with imports accounting for nearly 88 per cent of supply. Domestic output, however, is projected to increase sharply from $0.6 billion in FY24 to $3.8 billion by FY29, lowering import dependence to 69 per cent.
This growth path aligns with the broader electronics manufacturing sector, which is expected to expand at a 25 per cent CAGR to reach $450 billion by FY30. The increase will be supported by domestic consumption and exports, alongside a reduction in import reliance from 53 per cent to 40 per cent.
Further, demand is expected to be led by complex multilayer (ML) and flexible PCBs, which are projected to grow at 27 per cent and 30 per cent CAGR by value, respectively. This trend reflects increasing miniaturisation and sector-specific requirements from industries such as automotive and telecom. While a basic single-layer PCB typically realises around $40 per square metre, multilayer boards can command prices of up to $500, and flexible PCBs up to $350.
Additionally, measures such as anti-dumping duties, production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes and state-level incentives together cover about 55-60 per cent of capital costs. This enables scaled manufacturers to achieve returns on capital employed of around 18-20 per cent, even under conservative margin assumptions, the report said.
These policy tools build on earlier initiatives such as SPECS (Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors) and EMC (Electronics Manufacturing Clusters) 2.0. The emphasis has gradually shifted from assembly to components such as bare PCBs, laminates and camera modules.
Several domestic companies are ramping up capacity. Amber is planning Rs 42 billion in capital expenditure for multilayer and high-density interconnect (HDI) PCBs in Hosur and Greater Noida by FY28. Kaynes is targeting Rs 18 billion for HDI and ML PCBs in Chennai, while Syrma SGS has announced an Rs 18 billiob investment for ML PCBs and copper clad laminates in Naidupeta, Andhra Pradesh.
Existing manufacturers such as AT&S India, Shogini Technoarts and Epitome Components are also shifting towards high-realisation multilayer and flexible PCB segments, which fetch $350-500 per square metre compared with $30-40 for single-sided boards. This strategy helps counter low-cost Chinese imports and creates entry barriers through technology intensity, skilled labour requirements and lengthy customer qualification cycles.
According to the report, volume demand is expected to rise to 70 million square metres by FY29, reflecting an 11 per cent CAGR. However, value growth will be driven primarily by increasing complexity, with domestic market penetration rising 2.4 times to about 31 per cent. As the share of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) in electronics output reaches 30 per cent by FY30.
