Will Atmanirbhar be fruitful in India?
Reportedly even as india has iterated that Atmanirbhar Bharat and ‘vocal for local’ do not mean blanket isolation from the world, its policies at home regarding increase in import duties have become a cause of concern for big and small industry. “Certain raw materials are not available in india, certain technologies have very large economies of scale. So one should not aim at 100 per cent self-sufficiency in everything,” says R.C. Bhargava, chairman of maruti Suzuki. But the point of caution is that what india produces must be globally competitive, both in quality and cost. “Manufacturing products that are not of high quality or cost-effective aren’t in the country’s interest,” says Bhargava.
Some media reports suggest india may be considering further raising of import duties on some 300 Chinese products. anil Bhardwaj, secretary-general, Federation of indian Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, says: “In principle, our association does not endorse banning items. Trade is a very complex issue. Tinkering with trade will have unintended consequences. Unless there’s an emergency, such decisions should be avoided.” He adds that when it comes to e-commerce platforms importing certain items that india can produce, such as plastic buckets and mugs we are getting even those from China. Such imports, Bhardwaj feels, should be discouraged, but only after a thorough assessment.
India’s steel ministry has sought an increase in import duties on finished steel products to 15 percent, from the prevailing range of 7.5-12.5 percent, citing a threat from Chinese imports and excess global capacity. Two years ago, prime minister narendra modi, while addressing global business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, had said: “Climate change, terrorism and the backlash against globalization are the three most significant challenges to civilization as we know it.” The economic realities triggered by Covid now have inspired its ‘Atmanirbhar’ pitch.
Some media reports suggest india may be considering further raising of import duties on some 300 Chinese products. anil Bhardwaj, secretary-general, Federation of indian Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, says: “In principle, our association does not endorse banning items. Trade is a very complex issue. Tinkering with trade will have unintended consequences. Unless there’s an emergency, such decisions should be avoided.” He adds that when it comes to e-commerce platforms importing certain items that india can produce, such as plastic buckets and mugs we are getting even those from China. Such imports, Bhardwaj feels, should be discouraged, but only after a thorough assessment.
India’s steel ministry has sought an increase in import duties on finished steel products to 15 percent, from the prevailing range of 7.5-12.5 percent, citing a threat from Chinese imports and excess global capacity. Two years ago, prime minister narendra modi, while addressing global business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, had said: “Climate change, terrorism and the backlash against globalization are the three most significant challenges to civilization as we know it.” The economic realities triggered by Covid now have inspired its ‘Atmanirbhar’ pitch.