Delhi | India is emerging as a strong contender to become a global hub for LED display manufacturing, driven by a rapidly expanding domestic market and government-backed initiatives such as Make in India and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
LED: India may become the next China
Demand for LED is rising so quickly that it now rivals or surpasses many Western markets. This growth is encouraging new factories and startups to invest in LED production. One of the most active is Extreme Media’s LEDX Technology – whose director has been a panellists of invidis DSS conferences in the past.
However, India still lacks the deep supplier ecosystem needed to compete with China, which dominates the global market due to its mature supply chains and scale. While India is developing capabilities in areas like cabinets, power supplies, and PCBs, it remains dependent on China for critical components such as LED lamps, ICs, chips, receiver cards, and video processing systems. Building complete domestic supply chains – from basic components to advanced electronics – will take another 2–5 years.
According to recent ET Edge op-ed published by LEDX Technology director Sanket Rambhia, policy adjustments are essential. Current duty structures and loopholes in import classification make importing finished products too easy and discourage local manufacturing investment. To accelerate progress, India must implement higher duties on finished goods, enforce strict anti–under-invoicing measures, and ensure that raw materials are cheaper than imported products.
Sustainability presents an opportunity: India can position itself as a leader in green LED manufacturing using renewable energy and appealing to ESG-focused buyers. Export prospects are strong, especially across South America, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, supported by India’s improving trade relations.
Overall, India stands at a pivotal moment. With the policy corrections, supply chain development, and strategic execution, it could evolve into a trusted, innovative alternative to China in global LED display manufacturing.
invidis comment
India’s protectionists LED manufacturing ambitions collide with the trend for more Free Trade Agreements e.g. India-EU. The uncomfortable reality: in a world where the U.S. and China openly use protectionist tools to build industrial strength, open markets may no longer be a viable strategy for LED manufacturers. To create a level playing field with heavily supported Chinese suppliers, India may need to adopt its own targeted trade measures – not as ideology, but as necessity.
With one of the world’s fastest‑growing digital signage and LED markets, India is too important for global players to ignore – and too strategic for domestic manufacturers to be left unprotected.
For foreign digital signage hardware manufacturers – the “Make in India” initiatives with its financial benefits – force the larger market players to set up shops in India following Apple (Foxconn) & Co.
