The Cables & Wires Industry Enters a Rs 1.9-Trillion Growth Phase
The Indian Cables & Wires (C&W) industry is poised for a significant multi-year expansion, with the market anticipated to reach nearly ₹1.9 trillion by FY 2030. This projection reflects not just a cyclical uptick, but a structural growth phase driven by diversified demand drivers across infrastructure, energy, and technology sectors.
Over the past few years, the sector has already demonstrated resilience and momentum. Between FY 2023 and FY 2025, C&W revenues expanded at approximately 13 % CAGR, taking overall industry size to around ₹900 billion. Continued investment in large-scale public infrastructure,including power generation, transmission and distribution projects, railways, metro networks, and defence,underpins medium-term demand visibility. Renewables, electric mobility, and data centres further add to this robust base.
A key contributor to this outlook is the broadening of end-use markets. Unlike commodities tied to only a single sector, cables and wires are essential across industrial capex, residential and commercial construction, technology infrastructure, and export markets. India has been a net exporter of cables and wires since FY 2020, with export volumes growing at nearly 19 % CAGR over FY 2020–25, and continuing strong double-digit growth in H1 FY 2026.
Commodity price trends,particularly of copper and aluminium,have introduced cost pressures, as copper prices increased around 10 % and aluminium also rose. However, the industry has largely preserved margins due to effective pass-through pricing mechanisms. This adaptability has been critical in maintaining healthy operating metrics even amid raw-material volatility.
Why Polycab India and KEI Industries Stand Out
✦ Polycab India: Market Leadership with Strong Momentum
Polycab India remains one of the most dominant players in the C&W industry, benefiting from a wide distribution network, capacity advantage, and diversified product portfolio. Management has highlighted that the company is growing at around 1.5× the industry pace, thanks largely to its established leadership in core cables and wires and an expanding focus on Fast-Moving Electrical Goods (FMEG) and EPC segments.
Margins in the C&W business for Polycab have remained healthy—typically in the 13–15 % range—supported by mix optimization and operational efficiencies. The company’s EPC order book, including projects such as BharatNet, adds further revenue visibility. Analysts project strong growth metrics, with revenue, EBITDA, and EPS expected to grow at high-teens to low-twenties CAGRs over FY 2025–28.
Institutional confidence in Polycab is reflected in stock recommendations and target pricing significantly above current levels, rewarding investors positioned for the medium-term industrial growth story.
✦ KEI Industries: Strong Execution and Expanding Capacity
KEI Industries, another leading organised player, has delivered robust growth, evidenced by a ~19 % expansion in its core C&W segment in recent quarters. Alongside revenue growth, the company has posted healthy earnings progression, with EBITDA and profit after tax showing meaningful year-on-year improvements.
Despite some project commissioning delays,such as at the Sanand facility,management remains confident in sustaining growth guidance of around 18 % annually through FY 2028. The strategic emphasis on maximising capacity utilisation and cost management underscores KEI’s growth posture in an industry with expanding demand.
Analyst target prices for KEI Industries also suggest significant upside, positioning the stock among top buys for investors seeking to leverage sector growth.
Broader Industry Implications
The C&W industry’s growth phase aligns with India’s broader economic transition toward electrification, renewable energy adoption, digital infrastructure build-out, and manufacturing intensification. With expected growth at 1.5–2.0× real GDP, this sector exemplifies how core industrial segments can outpace broader economic cycles.
Investors view companies like Polycab India and KEI Industries as beneficiaries of this expansion, backed by strong fundamentals, diversified end markets, and resilient operating margins. Integrated demand drivers, from public infrastructure spend to private corporate capital expenditure, paint a compelling long-term growth picture—one that translates into investment opportunities for both equity and industrial growth portfolios.