SWADESHI SWAGGER
Outlook|June 15, 2020
It’s an opportunity, yes, but keeping China out is also fraught with risk in the post-COVID era
SAIBAL DASGUPTA AND JYOTIKA SOOD
SWADESHI SWAGGER

PM Narendra Modi’s clarion call for self-reliance and his appeal to Indian consumers to buy local products added punch to the prevailing anti-China sentiments due to Beijing’s role in allegedly ‘aiding’ the global spread of COVID-19. Buttressed by transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s blunt public criticism of China, the PM’s call added ammunition to the arsenal of the right-wing opposed to large-scale imports of low-cost Chinese goods. Fresh policies and bold reforms indicate India’s ambitious plan to replace Chinese goods with Indian ones. In 2019, India imported almost $75 billion worth of goods and services from China, ranging from firecrackers and cheap idols of Hindu gods to hi-tech telecom equipment, besides the role of Chinese firms in the construction of mega infrastructure projects. A case in point is electrical equipment used in the power sector. Government agencies, including state-owned power utilities, consume 95 per cent of the imported equipment. China accounts for 30 per cent of the total imports

This story is from the June 15, 2020 edition of Outlook.

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This story is from the June 15, 2020 edition of Outlook.

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