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Deeper links to global value chains (GVCs), stronger supply-chain resilience and more effective use of free trade agreements (FTAs) are among the steps Deloitte India says could support export-led manufacturing in India. The recommendations were reported by PTI in a Rediff story published on 4 October 2026; the report does not provide a quantified estimate of the export gains they might deliver.

What Deloitte India is recommending

According to the PTI report carried by Rediff, Deloitte India partner Anil Talreja argues that India’s next phase of export-led manufacturing should move beyond scale and assembly. It should build technology, value addition and deeper participation in cross-border production networks.

Talreja said: “India’s next phase of export-led manufacturing must move beyond scale and assembly towards technology, value addition and deeper integration into GVCs.” The report identifies electronics and semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, capital goods, defence and aerospace, speciality chemicals, and clean technologies as sectors with high potential.

The reported policy levers are practical as well as strategic:

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  • Reduce end-to-end logistics costs, including port handling, transport, warehousing, rail connectivity, container availability and last-mile delivery.
  • Improve supply-chain resilience so manufacturers can manage disruptions and maintain access to inputs.
  • Make better use of existing FTAs, including by helping firms understand and meet the agreements’ conditions.
  • Create a “Response Cell” to track changing export-market standards, product rules, carbon-border measures, sustainability and traceability requirements, sanctions and other trade-related requirements.

These are recommendations attributed to Deloitte India by the news report, not a quantified forecast or a complete Deloitte-hosted study presented in the story.

Why GVC participation matters to manufacturers

A GVC is a production network in which inputs, components and finished goods move across borders at different stages. A company can participate by supplying a component, processing an imported input, assembling a product or performing a more technology-intensive activity. Joining a network can therefore be a route to learning and upgrading, not just a way to ship more final goods.

A 2026 open-access policy forum in Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies describes how imported inputs and assembly can support upgrading, while stressing that participation depends on the conditions businesses face at home and in destination markets. Lower tariffs on key inputs, manageable non-tariff measures, simpler rules of origin, reliable infrastructure, coordination among government agencies, trade and investment ties, and multinational investment all influence whether firms can join and move up production networks. Adding FTAs alone does not remove domestic cost or compliance barriers.

The forum reports that India accounts for 17.5% of the world’s population while its share of global goods exports remains below 2%. Those figures are the journal article’s, not Deloitte’s, and indicate a broad gap in trade presence rather than a forecast of what any particular policy would achieve.

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What the automotive figures show—and do not show

NITI Aayog’s Trade Watch April–June (Q1) FY26 reports that India’s automotive backward GVC integration rose from 32% in 2015 to 46% in 2024. Backward integration refers to the use of foreign inputs in exports. The report says forward and two-sided linkages remain limited, and points to lower input tariffs, better logistics and stronger alignment with standards as ways to deepen automotive integration.

This is an automotive-sector indicator, not an economy-wide measure of India’s GVC participation. It shows movement in one part of manufacturing, but does not establish that the same pattern applies to other sectors or that a particular policy caused the change.

How FTAs and regional links fit in

An FTA can improve access to partner markets, but its commercial value depends on whether firms can meet its rules of origin and other requirements, source inputs competitively and deliver reliably. A policy forum in Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies reports that India–ASEAN non-oil merchandise exports increased from USD 15.8 billion in 2010 to USD 30.7 billion in 2022. Over the same period, network-product exports rose from USD 2 billion to USD 3.6 billion. These are different trade categories; the figures describe changes over time and do not show that an FTA alone caused them.

ERIA’s study of India–ASEAN value-chain links examines intermediate goods that feed into exports. Its publication summary identifies greater bilateral foreign direct investment and complementarities in manufacturing and the digital economy as possible avenues for deeper economic ties. These connections illustrate why an FTA’s impact is shaped by investment, production links and firms’ capacity to use the agreement, as well as by tariff preferences.

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Why export gains remain uncertain

The recommendations address identifiable constraints, but the cited material does not estimate how much India’s exports would rise if the full package were adopted. A March 2026 CSEP working paper discusses input tariffs, overlapping duties, quality-control orders and deeper FTAs as policy questions for GVC participation; it does not establish that any one change guarantees higher exports.

Results would depend on how policies are implemented, whether input and logistics costs fall in practice, whether firms can satisfy destination-market rules, and whether investment and demand respond. The available figures are descriptive indicators and policy arguments, not a causal estimate for Deloitte’s recommendations.

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