This article was written by S. Sunil Kumar, Country President, Henkel Adhesive Technologies India.India’s industrial acceleration has gone beyond the logic of scale. Capital, policy, and manufacturing ambitions are now on target. As the next phase takes shape, the country’s industrial future will be defined not by mere concessions or capacity expansion, but by a quiet, decisive force: materials efficiency.As Indian manufacturers go global, competition norms are becoming tougher. Export exposure is increasing, margins are shrinking, and regulatory thresholds for safety, sustainability, and compliance are moving upward. Traditional levers such as labor leverage, capacity expansion and sourcing efficiency are beginning to plateau. What quickly differentiates the winners is not where the products are made, but how predictably, safely and effectively they perform in real-world conditions.In mobility, electronics, and packaging, competitive advantage is increasingly being developed at the material level. Advanced content does more than enhance features. They determine whether products are profitable, reliable, and economically viable over their lifetime. By reducing weight, reducing thermal loss, and reducing power consumption, they drive energy efficiency. By resisting heat, vibration, and wear, they extend product life. As standards become stricter, they strengthen safety and regulatory compliance. By enabling easier assembly, automation-ready processes, and higher manufacturing yields, they also compress timelines and accelerate speed to market.
Mobility and EVs : light, safe, More efficient by design
India’s electric vehicle market is expanding rapidly. Volumes are increasing in two-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial fleets, while manufacturers face intense pressure on cost, localization and time-to-market.In this environment, the success of electric mobility depends on more than just batteries and drivetrains. Advanced materials, especially adhesives including structural bonding solutions, pretreatment technologies, sealants and functional coatings, are redefining vehicle design and manufacturing. These solutions are enabling EV manufacturers to reduce vehicle weight while maintaining structural integrity. Every kilogram saved improves energy efficiency and driving range, while also enabling faster assembly and higher line speeds, advantages that become important as EV platforms scale.As India’s auto sector moves up the global value chain, material innovation is becoming fundamental to how vehicle safety is designed and certified. Structural integrity, crash energy management, vibration control and cabin stability now influence ratings and brand trust. For OEMs, the right material choices play a critical role in ensuring safety, reliability, and brand strength, especially in a market where consumer confidence is still being formed.Cleaner chemicals reinforce this change. Low-emission pretreatments, pumpable NVH solutions, and recyclable structural inserts are helping OEMs meet increasing sustainability expectations while reducing waste and simplifying production. As India’s mobility transition accelerates, chemistry is emerging as a calming enabler, allowing OEMs and EV players to rapidly scale, build safer vehicles, and drive sustainable growth toward the future of transportation.The Union Budget 2026 introduces measures such as duty exemptions on lithium-ion cell manufacturing equipment and key EV minerals that quietly underpin the material-led transition. These initiatives help lower battery costs, stabilize supply chains, and help EV manufacturers build safer and more affordable platforms locally.
Electronics and Manufacturing : Accuracy as a strategic asset
India’s ambitions to become a global electronics and semiconductor manufacturing hub are defined by one requirement: precision at scale. With the push for India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and ₹40,000 crore for electronic components, Union Budget 2026 sends a clear signal. India is no longer content to collect the digital economy. It intends to own its physical layer, distributed content, devices, and full-stack intellectual property.This strategic push has already achieved initial milestones, including the inauguration of India’s first end-to-end outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing of pilot line facilities, indicating solid progress in developing advanced packaging capabilities under these initiatives.These initiatives and incentives provide significant momentum, but the next phase of semiconductor competition will be shaped inside the factory. As devices become smaller, faster, and more powerful, accuracy becomes tighter and consistency becomes more important. Performance increasingly depends on how reliably the material performs under extreme heat, vibration, high processing speed, and advanced miniaturization. At this stage, chemistry evolves from a cost consideration into a strategic capability, enabling quality, flexibility, and scalable manufacturing.High-performance materials shape the results at every stage of semiconductor manufacturing. They improve production by reducing variations and defects, increase stability by managing thermal and mechanical stress, and increase efficiency by supporting automation-ready production cycles. Even a small drop in production can damage the economics of the entire production line. Global leaders demonstrate this principle by focusing on machine-level consistency in material performance, treating each source of variation as a critical factor in operational excellence rather than a simple cost concern.India’s future competitiveness will depend equally on chemistry. Successfully deploying globally proven chemistries, adapting them to local conditions, and scaling them reliably will be key to transforming “Make in India” into “Manufacture for the World”.
Packaging: Chemistry as a Scalability engine Sustainable development
Packaging sits at the intersection of industrial efficiency, export readiness and sustainability mandates. As manufacturing and exports increase, packaging must achieve higher efficiency while using fewer resources while maintaining production speeds, reducing defects, and ensuring full compliance.Advances in adhesives, coatings, and barrier materials are changing packaging performance. Light structures with strong bonds extend shelf life while withstanding rapid processing. Cleaner chemistry reduces energy use and emissions and supports recyclable monomaterial and paper-based formats without compromising line speed or seal integrity.The economic benefits are obvious. Lightweight reduces logistics costs, while improved barrier efficiency reduces disruption in long supply chains. Energy efficient processes protect margins of scale. Today, global FMCG buyers are prioritizing sustainability, increasingly supporting suppliers with recycled and compliant packaging. Advanced barrier coatings and solvent-free adhesives are turning the cycle into a source of competitive advantage rather than a regulatory requirement.
Materials science as a long-term growth benefit for India
India’s future industrial growth will be determined by how effectively science is translated into repeatable and reliable performance on the factory floor. The real advantage comes not from innovation alone, but from the ability to adapt global chemistries to local conditions, embedding reliability, safety and durability into thousands of production lines.The next chapter of India’s industrial story will be written not in laboratories alone, but on factory floors, in shifts, plants, climates and supply chains. As global value chains demand higher standards, India’s status will be determined not by sheer output, but by how it delivers consistently, sustainably and safely.In this landscape, materials science is no longer a supporting input. It is the engine of implementation, enabling India to build industrial growth that is stronger, more resilient and globally competitive.Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author and do not represent those of The Times Group or its employees.
