u/Mundane_Slice1865

Thank you for the overwhelming response to my last post. I didn’t expect so many people to resonate, share ideas, and reach out. 🙏 (To know the context jump to PS.)

Now the expedition is taking shape.

For the next 30 days (Sep 2026), I’ll be travelling across India solo:

Coimbatore → Goa → Pune → Mumbai → Ahmedabad → Delhi → Varanasi → Meghalaya → Kolkata → Hyderabad → Coimbatore

2 days in each city. ₹30,000 budget. Sleeper trains. Budget stays. Street food. No fancy startup tours.

I’m not going with a fixed agenda.

I want to wander, meet people, visit places where things are actually built, and understand how India works from the ground up.

Connect me to Factories, MSMEs, Electronics markets, Makers, Engineers, Students, Founders, Researchers, Technicians.

I want to know:

Where are things actually being made?
Where does India’s hardware supply chain really begin?
What’s broken that nobody talks about?
Who is building genuinely difficult technology?
What does “Make in India” actually look like on the ground?

>The media gives us one version of India. I want to find the unfiltered version.

And most importantly, I want to meet people like you, people who are curious, building, experimenting, questioning, or simply seeing things differently.

If I’m coming to your city, DM me.

Show me your side of India.
Introduce me to someone I should meet.
Take me somewhere I wouldn’t find on Google.

30 days. ₹30,000. One hell of a trip.

Let’s see what India is really building.

PS: It feels like every developer right now just wants to build another AI wrapper or B2B SaaS tool. But if we want to build things that truly scale for the next billion people, we need to "Make in India" not "Fake in India". the USA dominates cutting-edge software design and China operates as the lightning-fast hardware factory of the world, it hits hard realizing how far behind India's system still is. I want to build things that can truly compete globally, but I don't know enough about our low-level infrastructure and constraints to make a real dent.

It feels like every developer right now just wants to build another AI wrapper or B2B SaaS tool. But if we want to build things that truly scale for the next billion people, we need to Make in India not "Fake in India". the USA dominates cutting-edge software design and China operates as the lightning-fast hardware factory of the world, it hits hard realizing how far behind India's system still is. I want to build things that can truly compete globally, but I don't know enough about our low-level infrastructure and constraints to make a real dent.

So I am stepping up to a challenge: I am 22, and I have set a strict savings budget of ₹30,000 for a 30-day journey. No flights, no premium hotels, only sleeper-class trains, budget lodges, and street food. I want to completely experience this from the ground up to see the raw, unfiltered truth of Indian supply chains, manufacturing and find the true "Make in India" business.

What I’m Looking For: I want to skip the corporate business parks. I am looking for the rawest, lowest-level hubs where metal is cut, circuits are soldered, and hardware meets software.

Which dusty industrial estates should I absolutely not miss?

What I need from this community:

1. Industries: Which raw, low-level industrial hubs and MSME clusters should I absolutely not miss? can you take me there?

2. The Electronics Source: Where do local hardware shops go to buy raw electronic components and custom PCBs in bulk? I want to find the manufacturers who supplies to them.

3. The Deep Tech Builders: Who is doing the hardest, rarest work in the country from absolute zero? If you know someone training local LLMs, designing local processors, setting up unique data centers, or fabricating proprietary sensors, please drop their names/startups.

I want to meet everyone with a stake in this ecosystem: passionate students, IoT enthusiasts, professors, factory operators, MSME owners, and deep-tech researchers.

If you’re a college student or professional who is as curious as I am, let’s collaborate. When I reach your hometown, could you show me around the local markets and industrial areas from morning to evening? In exchange, we can grab street food, swap insights, and dive deep into these topics together.

Please drop your suggestions for locations, hidden hubs, founder intros, or even safety warnings below. My DMs are completely open!

>I am honestly tired of the fancy showrooms that just import completely knocked-down kits from abroad, screw them together, and call it domestic innovation. I want to see the real, Make in India.

It feels like every developer want to build another wrapper app, B2B SaaS tool. But if we want to build things that truly scale for the next billion people, we need to bridge the massive gap between software and core physical manufacturing. While the USA dominates cutting-edge software design and China operates as the lightning-fast hardware factory of the world, it hits hard realizing how slow and far behind our system still is. I want to build things that can truly compete globally, but I realize I don't know enough about our low-level infrastructure and constraints to make a real dent.

I am tired of seeing the "Fake in India" setups, the fancy showrooms that just import completely knocked-down kits from abroad, screw them together, and call it domestic innovation. I want to see the real, gritty Make in India.

So I am stepping up to a challenge: I am 22, and I have set a strict budget of ₹30,000 for a 30-day journey. No flights, no premium hotels, only sleeper-class trains, budget lodges, and street food. I want to completely experience this from the ground up to see the raw, unfiltered truth of Indian supply chains, manufacturing and find the one true make in India business.

What I’m Looking For: I want to skip the corporate business parks. I am looking for the rawest, lowest-level hubs where metal is cut, circuits are soldered, and hardware meets software.

• Which dusty industrial estates should I absolutely not miss?
• Where do local hardware shops go to buy raw electronic components and custom PCBs in bulk?

The Deep Tech Builders: Beyond the factory floors, I also want to find the people doing the hardest, rarest work in the country. If you or someone you know is truly building a unique startup from absolute zero, whether it's training an LLM from scratch, designing local processors, setting up local data centers, harnessing energy in small scale in a unique way or fabricating proprietary sensors, I want to meet those minds too.

Help Me Connect: I want to meet everyone with a stake in this ecosystem like passionate students, IoT enthusiast, professors, factory operators, MSME owners, deep-tech researchers/founder, Policy Makers. If you belong to any of these groups, or if you can connect me with someone who does, please drop a comment or slide into my DMs.

If you’re a college student or professional who is as curious as I am, let’s team up! When I reach your hometown, could you show me around the local markets and industrial areas from morning to evening? In exchange, we can swap insights, brainstorm ideas, and dive deep into these topics together.

Please drop your suggestions for locations, hidden hubs, or even warnings below!