The Dragon's Grip on Imports

Indian industry will need time and support from the government to reduce its reliance on Chinese imports

- SAMAR SRIVASTAVA

Voltas’ air conditioners are assembled in India. In the eyes of Indian consumers, they are a made-in-India brand.

But look under the hood of the air conditioners and 50 percent of components—compressors, controllers, motors, and copper tubes—come from China. “There is no compressor manufacturer in India,” says Pradeep Bakshi, managing director at Voltas.

While the company is looking to develop a vendor ecosystem, it would take a minimum of 12-18 months to put that in place. Bakshi says the company is exploring several options, including tying up with rivals, to set up a compressor facility that can manufacture at scale. Vendors in this space work on large top lines and low margins and no one Indian air conditioning company can give them the business they need to be viable.

In the interim, Voltas continues to import from its Chinese suppliers. The recent border skirmishes as well as the government’s call for industry to become ‘aatmanirbhar’, or self- reliant, have done nothing to halt their Chinese imports. It’s business as usual.