India rewrites made in signals

Country-of-origin labels are really proxies for trust. They hint at process, standards, and service more than a dot on a map. In the last decade, India showed how open digital rails plus targeted manufacturing policy can rewrite what “made in” signals. 🇮🇳👇

Back in Oct 2013 I invented “Made with ♥ in India”, badge to put in Indian-made products and services, hoping a tiny semantic nudge could soften the reflex that “Made in India” meant “cheap.” The goal was pride, not flag waving. Twelve years later the only test that matters is simple: did the story catch up with the work?

What the work looked like, in three layers:
1. Policy: Make in India in 2014 set ambition, PLI’s 4-6% on incremental electronics changed unit economics at scale.
2. Supply chains: Apple via Foxconn and Tata moved higher end iPhone assembly, ~14% of global iPhones in FY24.
3. Open rails: UPI at massive scale, Account Aggregator for consented data flows, and ONDC’s protocol over platform. Taglines do not move supply chains, systems do.

Reality check and a few surprises. The 25% of GDP manufacturing target was missed. Gains were uneven even as electronics outperformed. I underrated how decisive open, testable rails would be, and overrated what a label can do. Also, tariff whiplash keeps origin a moving target, and “assembled in” vs “made in” still matters in both pricing and perception.

Open questions for 2025: Should origin marks evolve toward “Built on India Stack”-style attestations that certify process, not just place? How do we reward real capability building without slipping into tokenism?

If you’re curious, here’s the 2013 post: https://anandchowdhary.com/blog/2013/made-with-love-in-india