A decade ago, swadeshi meant khadi and handicrafts. This Diwali, it looks very different: a family SUV rolling off a Pune assembly line, an iPhone 17 assembled in Bengaluru, or a Philips airfryer ‘Made in India’.
As tariffs and geopolitics create an environment of uncertainty, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches has urged Indians to embrace swadeshi this festive season, saying “India’s biggest adversary is dependence on other nations”.
Diwali sales are expected to cross an all-time high of Rs 4.75 lakh crore this year, driven largely by Indian-made goods.
The new GST reforms, aimed at supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), have further encouraged the shift toward Indian-made products. Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk, echoes the PM’s sentiments.
“Every purchase of Indian-made goods is not just an act of celebration, but a contribution to strengthening the economy and empowering small traders,” he said. “The trading community pledges that swadeshi products will be available in every shop. The only alternative to foreign goods will be swadeshi,” CAIT has stated.
Swadeshi gets an impetus when perhaps one of the most coveted products, the latest iPhone, comes with a Made in India stamp. Just a few years ago, India was almost entirely an import market. Today, as per Canalys’ data, devices assembled here account for 44% of US smartphone imports, up from 13% last year.
American tech company Apple is at the centre of this shift. Once reliant on China for nearly all iPhone production, it reportedly now makes one in five iPhones in India. In FY25, it assembled $22 billion worth of devices in India, a 60% jump from FY24. Of these, nearly 80% were exported. Since the government’s smartphone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme was launched in 2021, Apple’s vendors have crossed production worth over $45 billion and $34 billion in exports.
Korean Samsung has also expanded its India play. It started manufac turing in India in 1996 with its first facility in Greater Noida, initially making TVs and later mobile phones, laptops, wearables and tablets. Globally, Samsung operates its second-largest mobile manufacturing unit in India and is the country’s second-largest handset exporter after Apple.
If phones are the attention-grabbers, white goods are the volume story. “This year, we’re observing a growing consumer preference for products that offer quality, innovation, and value with a rising sense of pride in those that are Made in India,” said Shibashish Roy, CEO & MD of Croma.
LG Electronics, a market leader across consumer durables, has two factories in Noida and Pune, producing everything from TVs and refrigerators to washing machines and air conditioners. A third plant is coming up in Andhra Pradesh by 2026, cementing India’s role as a global supply base for the South Korean major. The company will double manufacturing capacity in five years as it seeks to make India a global manufacturing hub, Sanjay Chitkara, chief sales officer, said at the sidelines of its IPO event.
“While domestic demand remains robust in the country, we also want to position India as an alternate manufacturing hub, catering to more export markets,” Chitkara said. Exports, which give LG India 6% of its topline, happens to 47 countries, growing 45% year-on-year in the past year.
One is reminded of Home Minister Amit Shah’s words at the recent FE Best Bank Awards: “We launched the Make in India initiative as a movement. We invited world-class companies to manufacture in India, and not just sell here. We want global companies to become Indian in spirit, rooted in our economy, contributing to our workforce.”
Companies are taking the cue. Like French tech major Schneider Electric, which is going big on Made in India. Nearly 80-85% of its retail product portfolio are locally manufactured. India is one of Schneider Electric’s four global hubs, employing over 39,000 people. The company currently operates 31 manufacturing sites in India and plans to add three more. Sumati Sahgal, VP – home & distribution retail, Schneider Electric, said: “Our Made-in-India innovations are clearly labelled so consumers can consciously choose swadeshi options,” said Sahgal, adding, “This festive season, we are witnessing double-digit growth in demand for our Made-in-India portfolio compared to last year.”
At Panasonic, the pivot is visible in product launches as well as supply chains. “We expect this festive season to deliver strong growth momentum, with demand likely to increase by 25-30% over last year,” said Fumiyasu Fujimori, managing director, Panasonic Marketing India. Versuni, which owns Philips appliances, has opened an Ahmedabad plant to produce airfryers and garment steamers. IFB has added a refrigerator unit in Pune, complementing older factories in Goa and Kolkata.
The automobile sector has always been the most visible symbol of local manufacturing. Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, makes 2.6 million cars a year. “Maruti Suzuki has achieved its highest-ever monthly exports of 42,204 units in September, growing at a whopping 52.2% on year. In just four years, we are now exporting cars in a quarter what we used to export in a year,” said Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer, corporate affairs, Maruti Suzuki, adding, “This is like a 21-gun salute to Make in India — make for the world.”
Other carmakers are on the same page. In FY25, Japanese carmaker Honda sent 60,229 units to its home country. Similarly, Nissan exported 71,334 units in FY25, significantly higher than 42,989 units a year ago. Overall, about 770,300 cars were exported in FY25 produced in India, compared to 672,105 units in FY24.
Other companies are matching the tempo in production. “We have achieved a high localisation level of around 82% on an average, with many advanced parts and key components now being sourced locally. This reflects our strong commitment to ‘Make in India’. Our enhanced capacities will not only help us serve the fast-growing domestic market but also boost exports, which have grown at a healthy 13% so far this year,” said Tarun Garg, MD and CEO-designate. Hyundai is looking to make India its second-biggest market in the world after the US, with fresh investments to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore that will deliver 26 products by 2030.
Skoda Auto Volkswagen says India’s strong manufacturing ecosystem plays a vital role for the company, in not just meeting domestic demand but also global goals, with exports to Mexico, South Africa and ASEAN. “Almost 90% of the cars we sell in India are manufactured locally, especially our made-in-India models like the Skoda Kylaqm Kushaq, Slavia, Kodiaq and the Volkswagen Taigun and Virtus,” said Piyush Arora, CEO & MD, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India.
Mahindra & Mahindra, with facilities in Chakan, Nashik, Zaheerabad and Haridwar, continues to strengthen its SUV line-up. The company saw registrations surge by 60% during the nine days of Navratri.
Homegrown Tata Motors is also scaling sharply. With major plants in Pune, Sanand, Pantnagar, Dharwad and Jamshedpur, the company reported record September sales of 60,907 passenger vehicles, a 47% year-on-year jump. With at least 15 factories across the country, the company recorded 10,000 deliveries and 25,000 enquiries on the first day of Navratri. Kia India, operating from its Anantapur plant in Andhra Pradesh, has built up a capacity of 300,000 units annually since 2019, and now offers nine models in India, including SUVs and Evs.
EV maker Greaves Electric Mobility says it has achieved a surge in demand for its vehicles, including Ampere Nexus, Magnus (scooter), and Eltra (electric three-wheeler) – all designed and manufactured in India.