Projected economic growth
IMF projection for India in 2026, compared with 4.6% for China.
IMF · 2026Why India
A major industrial opportunity for European buyers.
India combines manufacturing scale, engineering depth, a billion-person working-age population and an increasingly important relationship with European industry.
The opportunity is not to move everything to India. It is to know where India gives the buyer a stronger strategic option.
INDIAMANUFACTURING / 2026
The India case
The scale is already real. The trajectory is what makes it interesting.
India is no longer simply a low-cost sourcing story. Its relevance comes from the combination of industrial depth, workforce scale, growth and expanding European commercial ties.
Working-age population
People aged 15–64 in India in 2025 — slightly more than China.
World Bank / UN · 2025Manufacturing value added
India’s manufacturing output at current US-dollar value in 2025.
World Bank · 2025EU–India goods trade
Bilateral goods trade between India and the European Union in 2025.
European Commission · 2025European companies in India
Approximate number of European companies already operating in the Indian market.
European CommissionIndia and China
Diversification is a better argument than replacement.
China remains the world’s dominant manufacturing base. India does not need to be larger than China to be strategically valuable to a European sourcing portfolio.
For many buyers, the strongest India case is not India instead of China — it is India alongside China.
Selected sourcing contextINDIA / CHINA
INDIndia
CHNChina
Manufacturing value addedWorld Bank · 2025
$533B$4.82T2026 economic growthIMF projection
6.4%4.6%Population aged 15–642025
1.002B980MLogistics Performance IndexWorld Bank · 2023 rank
#38#19EU trade frameworkStatus · October 2026
FTA concludedNo EU FTAIndustrial India
One country. Very different manufacturing ecosystems.
India’s sourcing opportunity spans mature engineering clusters, regulated manufacturing, emerging electronics ecosystems and large export logistics networks.
01Precision engineering
02Healthcare & pharmaceuticals
03Electronics & electromechanical
04Export infrastructure
Where India becomes compelling
Five reasons European buyers are looking harder at India.
None of these advantages guarantees a good sourcing outcome. Together, they explain why India deserves a place in more European sourcing strategies.
A manufacturing economy still expanding
India is growing faster than many major industrial economies, creating new capacity, investment and supplier ambition.
A workforce of unusual scale
India’s working-age population is now slightly larger than China’s, providing a long-term labour and engineering base.
A genuine China+1 option
India allows buyers to reduce single-country concentration without moving sourcing into a manufacturing market that lacks meaningful industrial depth.
A deepening European relationship
EU–India goods trade, European investment and the concluded FTA negotiations point toward closer long-term commercial integration.
Capability beyond one export sector
Engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, food, packaging and an expanding electronics base create multiple sourcing entry points.
EU × INDIA2026
EU–India trade agreementNegotiations concluded.
The agreement moved into the EU approval process in September 2026. It has not yet entered into force.
€132.8B
EU foreign direct investment stock in India · 2024
Europe × India
The commercial bridge is getting stronger.
European companies are not starting from zero in India. Trade, investment and institutional ties already connect the two industrial markets.
01
EU–India goods trade reached approximately €118 billion in 2025 and has grown 83.7% over the previous decade.
02
FTA negotiations concluded in January 2026, with the European Commission proposing signature and conclusion in September 2026.
03
Around 6,000 European companies are already present in India.
A credible India case
India does not win every comparison — and it does not need to.
A sourcing decision should begin with the requirement, not a country narrative. Some categories will favour India. Others may still favour China, Türkiye, Vietnam, Mexico or a European supplier.
01 / ScaleChina remains dramatically larger.
China’s manufacturing value added is roughly nine times India’s. For highly integrated supply chains and enormous manufacturing ecosystems, that advantage matters.
02 / LogisticsChina still ranks ahead on logistics.
In the World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index, China ranked 19th and India 38th. India has improved substantially, but the gap should not be ignored.
03 / Supplier selectionIndia is highly fragmented.
The challenge is rarely whether an Indian manufacturer exists. It is identifying which manufacturer has the right capability, evidence and commercial fit.
Data & context
Figures shown on this page use the latest cited data available from the World Bank, IMF and European institutions as of October 2026. Country-level indicators are contextual and should not be interpreted as supplier-level performance.
Make the India case specific
India becomes useful when the opportunity is connected to a real requirement.
Tell us what you are sourcing. We will assess whether India makes sense for the product, process, volumes and sourcing context before proposing the next step.
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