India-EU FTA: Tech Leaders Predict Impact on India’s Electronics Sector

As India and the EU advance toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), electronics brands are bullish on its potential to slash import duties on critical components, boost R&D collaborations, and propel India from assembly hub to global design powerhouse. With bilateral trade already at $136 billion and duty-free access eyed for 93% of Indian goods, leaders from BenQ, CP PLUS, Cellecor, Hisense, and Energy Bots highlight how this deal rewires supply chains, cuts costs by 35-40%, and scales exports to $50B by 2031—driving sustainable growth in displays, EVs, IoT, and more.
 
Rajeev Singh, Managing Director, BenQ India and South Asia
“The India–EU Free Trade Agreement has the potential to be a structural reset for India’s electronics industry, not just a trade facilitation exercise. For Indian electronics manufacturers and global brands operating in India, the most immediate impact will come from tariff rationalisation, improved access to advanced components, and stronger alignment with European technical standards. This directly addresses one of the sector’s long-standing challenges: the cost and complexity of sourcing high-quality components and technologies critical for innovation-led products.
The FTA can accelerate India’s transition from being primarily an assembly-led market to becoming a design, innovation, and value-added manufacturing hub. Europe brings deep expertise in precision engineering, sustainability standards, and R&D-driven product development. Easier collaboration in these areas can help Indian operations move up the value chain, especially in segments like display technologies, smart classroom solutions, medical imaging, and professional AV systems.
However, to fully unlock these benefits, the agreement must be complemented by domestic readiness. This includes skill development in advanced manufacturing, faster regulatory clearances, and consistent policy support for high-value electronics production. MSMEs, in particular, will need support to integrate into EU-aligned supply chains.
Overall, the India–EU FTA is less about short-term trade gains and more about long-term capability building. If executed thoughtfully, it can position India as a trusted global partner in high-quality, sustainable electronics manufacturing.”
 
Aditya Khemka, Managing Director, CP PLUS
“India–EU FTA is a timely step toward building a more balanced and resilient technology ecosystem. Deeper trade and technology exchange with the EU can help this corridor move away from over-reliance on limited geographies and toward a diversified, innovation-led supply chain.
The agreement can accelerate India’s push in manufacturing by enabling collaboration on standards, certification, and R&D. Stronger testing and standard formation will lift product quality and global trust, while faster time-to-market benefits manufacturers and customers alike.
As domestic capabilities expand, efficiencies of scale will bring down costs, making India a competitive hub for electronics, EVs, and other advanced tech products. Global buyers, including the EU, stand to gain from reliable supply, better quality, and more competitive pricing - creating a win-win partnership that is future-ready.”
 
Ravi Agarwal, Co-founder and Managing Director, Cellecor
“India’s trade engagement with the EU is a strong signal for Indian manufacturing and long term industrial capability. With bilateral trade at USD 136 billion, proposed duty free access for over 93 percent of Indian goods, and a combined market contributing nearly a quarter of global GDP, the opportunity is clearly structural. At Cellecor, we view this as encouragement to invest deeper in manufacturing, strengthen quality and compliance standards, and build consumer technology that is rooted in Indian households while being globally competitive and future ready.”
 
Pankaj Rana, CEO, Hisense India
‘’As a leading global player in the electronics space, Hisense sees this EU-India FTA as a structural boon for the entire Indian electronics ecosystem, not just exporters, but the full value chain from components to assembly.
The underappreciated input-side shift is massive: 35-40% of high-value electronics costs (precision components, testing gear, lithography tools) currently face 40%+ import duties from European suppliers, now dropping significantly, enabling unprecedented cost reductions while elevating quality via mutual certifications and faster EU compliance.
For India's sector, this dual impact means scaling exports from $18B to $50B by 2031 across LEDs, appliances, IT hardware, and semiconductors, drawing European OEMs to 'Make in India' and integrating India into global auto/industrial chains.
This development will truly support India's bid to position the country as an electronics manufacturing powerhouse."
 
Murali Mantravadi, Joint Managing Director, Energy Bots – Flosenso (its an Indian smart water management device)
"This landmark EU agreement fundamentally rewires India's electronics ecosystem, transforming a $750 billion European market from aspiration to reality with zero-duty access and mutual certifications that fast-track compliance. More crucially, its underappreciated input-side revolution—cutting tariffs on precision components, testing infrastructure, and high-end machinery from 40%+ to zero—directly addresses the 35-40% of production costs that have long bottlenecked high-value manufacturing like semiconductors, IoT sensors, and advanced assemblies.
For innovators like Energy Bots, building smart water management devices with sustainable IoT at their core, this dual engine of cheaper European supply chains and higher export realizations creates unprecedented scale—projecting 3-5x growth as we penetrate EU homes, industries, and green infrastructure markets.
Across the sector, this isn't just export growth to $50B by 2031; it's a structural reset enabling 'Made in India' electronics to compete globally on cost, quality, and sustainability—finally delivering the 'from India to the world' promise while aligning with Europe's net-zero demands."