Published on September 2026 | Industrial Growth

The New Architecture of Growth: India’s 21st Century Industrial Policy and Global Ambitions

Amidst slowing global economic growth and rising structural protectionism, industrial policy has returned to the center of global economic strategy. Moving past historical import-substitution models, India is pioneering a modern framework that aligns with the World Bank's 21st-century industrial taxonomy. This paper analyzes India's strategic shift toward securing global value chains (GVCs) by deploying tailored public inputs, localized mega-clusters, and performance-tied market incentives like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. It highlights how the country is structurally decentralizing its trade architecture by activating districts as export hubs via the Export Promotion Mission (EPM). Finally, the paper addresses the critical macroeconomic necessity of transitioning from low-value "screwdriver assembly" to core R&D and component-led engineering to build a resilient, globally competitive manufacturing ecosystem.