India must tackle its high production costs and use free trade agreements (FTAs) to grow its electronics exports, says NITI Aayog in its Trade Watch Quarterly report released on February 13, 2026. The global electronics market is worth $4.6 trillion. But India holds only about 1% of this in 2024. High-tech sectors like integrated circuits and semiconductors are mostly led by China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The report urges India to focus on predictable government buying, export finance, and simpler rules to attract more investments amid a tense global scene. It calls for a shift from just assembling electronics to making key components domestically. This will help India build a competitive electronics ecosystem and meet its $500 billion manufacturing target by 2030. The report covers data from July to September 2025. It suggests supporting small businesses, improving trade links, and increasing local value addition. It also highlights that cross-border e-commerce will help push export growth, with electronics playing a key role. Since 2015, most export gains are in telecom and mobiles, while chip exports remain low. India mainly exports mobiles (52.5%), with power equipment making smaller shares. Imports mostly include integrated circuits (23.7%), mobiles (17.5%), and data machines (10.6%). Trade with the USA, UAE, and Netherlands grows steadily. In the latest quarter, exports rose about 8.5% year-on-year, outpacing imports. On January 27, India and the European Union announced they finished talks on a new free trade agreement, their 19th deal. This pact aims to boost exports to the 27 EU countries. Since 2014, India has signed seven trade pacts, including with Mauritius, Australia, UAE, Oman, the UK, EFTA countries, and New Zealand.