The chimera of self-reliance

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly outlined a Swadeshi path to developed India and urged Indian manufacturers and entrepreneurs to cut dependence on foreign markets and anchor their business models in ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.

- Santosh Kumar Mohapatra

But critics are of the opinion that ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ is a political propaganda and seems to be a chimera as foreign goods are widely used by Indians. Self-reliance is a wide-ranging, long-term national strategy focused on reducing dependence on external sources by addressing vital challenges rather than relying solely on market-driven growth. It requires promoting policies that involve fostering domestic production and exports, augmenting technological capabilities through investment in R&D and education, and promoting inclusive, sustainable economic policies that benefit the entire population and build resilience against global shocks.

One of the objectives of self-reliance is to have a trade surplus. But India is currently running a trade deficit where the value of its imports exceeds its value of exports.

India's trade deficit for FY25 was $282.83 billion, compared to $241.14 billion in the previous year. This widening gap is mainly due to higher merchandise imports ($720.24 billion) and lower merchandise exports ($437.42 billion).