FROM TARIFF STING TO GLOBAL SPRING: INDIA'S MOMENT TO SOAR

INDIA'S ECONOMIC DESTINY teeters - not as a helpless bystander, but as a nation poised to seize a pivotal moment. The United States' 26 per cent tariff on Indian imports, effective April 2025, jolts our $3.5 trillion economy, threatening export losses between $6 billion and $31 billion annually.

- By Vikas Singh

Textiles, pharmaceuticals, steel, and gems - linchpins of India's export machine - face an abrupt reckoning. With a projected growth rate of 6.5-6.6 per cent for 2025-26, this could sting.

From Slumber to Surge:

Yet, what if this blow is the spark India needs to ignite a long-overdue transformation? History shouts a bold truth: India thrives when cornered. From the 1991 liberalization to the self-reliance surge after the 1998 Pokhran sanctions, adversity has forged resilience.

Today, with a trade surplus of just $45 billion - a fraction of our potential - these tariffs aren't a curse but a call to action. Why does our trade lag so far behind our ambitions? And how can India turn this challenge into a bolder, brighter economic future?

Peeling back India's $45 billion trade surplus reveals untapped promise. Compare this to China's $800 billion or Germany's $300 billion surpluses, and the gap glares. Petroleum products (21 per cent of exports), gems, and engineering goods dominate, yet the mix is narrow and fragile. Imports tell a grimmer tale: 23 per cent of our bill is oil, while a growing appetite for foreign electronics erodes gains. Productivity lags - Indian exporters operate at a third of China's efficiency, half of others.

Infrastructure groans, with port turnaround times at two weeks against Singapore's sub-one-day standard. Regulatory snarls and decades of protectionism have dulled our edge, leaving a 1.4 billion-strong nation with booming manufacturing stuck below its export ceiling. Robust domestic demand has masked these flaws - until now. The tariffs are a rude awakening, but one that could jolt India from its slumber.