South Asia hosts the world’s fourth largest industrial construction project pipeline by value, with India accounting for the overwhelming majority of activity. India’s industrial project pipeline is valued at $616.6bn, representing approximately 96.3% of the region’s total pipeline value. The Indian government has positioned manufacturing as the central pillar of its long-term objective to build a $35trn economy by 2047. Growth in India’s industrial construction sector is being driven by key policy initiatives, including the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, Make in India and the National Manufacturing Mission.
As of late July 2025, the Indian government had approved 806 applications under the PLI schemes, which covers 14 strategic sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, textiles and automobiles.
Through these schemes, the government aims to generate production worth $20.5bn and create around 60,000 direct jobs across the country. Government projections indicate that the manufacturing sector could reach a valuation of $1trn by FY2025–26 (ending March 2026) and potentially contribute more than $500bn annually to the global economy by 2030. In mid-September 2025, the Indian prime minister called on state governments to accelerate manufacturing initiatives, foster a business-friendly environment and actively promote local products, emphasising their importance for economic growth and the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. Further supporting this push, in early November 2025 the government announced plans to raise rare earth magnet incentives to $788m to strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities, with recent project announcements underlining this momentum.
In early November 2025, Evonith Steel announced a $713.6m investment to double its production capacity to 3.5 million tonnes per annum over the next three years. Additionally, in October 2025, Rashmi Group unveiled plans to invest $1.2bn in a steel production plant with a capacity of 2.8 million tonnes per annum in West Bengal.
GlobalData is currently tracking industrial construction projects in South Asia valued at $640.5bn, encompassing developments from the announcement through execution stages. The regional pipeline is heavily weighted towards early-stage activity, with projects in pre-planning and planning phases accounting for 55.6% of total value, manufacturing, a critical input for electric vehicles, renewable energy, aerospace and defence industries
In October 2025, the government also approved seven major projects under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), involving a combined investment of INR52.6bn ($626m). These projects aim to boost domestic production of key electronic components and are largely located in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with Tamil Nadu securing five of the seven approvals. Collectively, the new facilities are expected to create 5,100 direct jobs while strengthening supply chains for sectors including telecom, defence, electric vehicles and renewables.
Project analytics
According to GlobalData, India’s industrial construction project pipeline – covering all mega projects valued above $25m – stands at $836.5bn. The pipeline, spanning pre-planning through execution stages, is dominated by early phase developments, with 58.4% of total value concentrated in the pre-planning and planning stages as of December 2025.
The largest industrial project currently under development is the $20.3bn Angul Integrated Steel and Power Plant. The project involves constructing a steel plant and a captive power facility across 2,428ha of land near Chhendipada in Angul, Odisha. Another major development is the $19.5bn Dholera Semiconductor and Display Manufacturing Plant, which includes the construction of both a semiconductor facility and a display manufacturing unit.
Latest news and developments
Manufacturing activity continues to expand in Q3 2025. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), manufacturing value-added increased by 9.1% year-on-year (YoY) in Q3 2025, following growth of 7.7% in Q2 and 4.8% in Q1 2025. On a cumulative basis, manufacturing value-added rose by 7.2% YoY during the first nine months of 2025, compared with growth of 6.2% in 2024.
Industrial and manufacturing production rises in September 2025. MoSPI data shows that the index of industrial production increased by 4% YoY in September 2025, following growth of 4.1% in August and 4.3% in July 2025. The index of manufacturing production rose by 4.8% YoY in September, after expanding by 3.8% in August and 6% in July. On average, industrial production grew by 3.4% YoY between January and September 2025, while manufacturing production rose by 4.1% YoY over the same period. In 2024, average industrial production grew by 4.4% YoY, and manufacturing production increased by 4.2% YoY.
Exports maintain upward momentum in September 2025. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), merchandise exports rose by 11.7% YoY in September 2025, following growth of 5.6% in August and 12.6% in July.
Cumulatively, export values increased by 4.6% during the first nine months of 2025, rising from INR27.7trn ($1.7bn) in January to September 2024 to INR29trn ($1.8bn) in January to September 2025. Export values had previously grown by 3.6% in 2024.
Finally, US-based electronics company Harman has announced its plans to expand its India manufacturing plant. In November 2025, Harman announced an investment of INR3.5bn ($42m), aiming to expand its automotive electronics manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune. This new expansion involves adding of 6,643m2 of built-up area, including a 4,180.6m2 production shop floor, boosting new capabilities such as module production and speaker manufacturing. The plant will have the capacity to deliver an annual output of four million car audio components, 1.4 million infotainment units, and 800,000 Telematics Control Units (TCUs) by 2027.
The investment includes INR462.5m ($5.5m) for immediate expansion and an additional INR3.1bn ($36.5m) by 2027 to support advanced telematics and next-generation automotive connectivity programmes.
