“Aatmanirbhar” Bharat and China: A war beyond weapons?
A few weeks back, Chinese startup TikTok was on the top of the trending list due to the face-off between a few YouTubers and TikTokers.Overall people criticising TikTok were more than their supporting count. A lot of criticism was faced by TikTok and soon after, China attacked Galwan Valley and took premeditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. A sense of nationalism ignited in the people of India and within a few days, a wave of Boycott China notion spread across the whole country.
For most of us, it looked like a sudden move by the Government of India banning 59 Chinese apps in the Indian subcontinent on June 29, 2020, thus giving a befitting answer to China for the Galwan Valley attack.
But if you view this through a bigger lens, you’ll probably understand that the whole story began in November 2019, when India decided to hold off the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP). There were some crucial issues that have prevented India from coming on board include “inadequate” protection against surges in imports from China in particular
After holding off RCEP, banning 59 Chinese apps including TikTok and a clarion call for “Vocal for Local”, Indian Government has come up with a brand new scheme named “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan” (self-reliant India) with an economic stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore, alongside some big-bang type systemic reforms under this.
But first, let’s try to understand the reasoning behind the Boycott China notion advocated by the Government.
China’s penetration into the Indian economy
Ministry of Commerce and Industry states that a majority of the inflow from China has occurred over the last five years, with the automobile, electronics, and services sectors receiving the largest shares.
Although the rate of China’s FDI exposure to India has been increasing over the last few years, the proportion is still negligible in the market making it difficult to explain such selective targeting. In the startup space, Chinese companies have investments in a whopping 66% of the Indian start-ups valued at over $1 billion(Indian Unicorns), with significant stakes held by companies like Alibaba (in Paytm, Bigbasket, and Zomato) and Tencent (in Ola, Flipkart and BYJU’s). These facts and data should be enough to understand that the damage was done from even before the border clash.
The way to becoming “Aatmanirbhar” (self-reliant)
As of now, the Indian economy (which is staggering under the twin blow of cramped growth and the shutdown due to COVID-19) needs to refuel consumer demand by generating enough employment. At a time when the finances of the government are underscoring and bank lending is silent, the selective prohibition of foreign capital should not have come up. But in the long run, India might be just on track to attain self-sufficiency with this move.
At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that China’s state capitalism, with its various hidden subsidies for state-owned companies, does not create ideal conditions for Indian corporates to compete with it at the moment. All these factors make it clear that India definitely needed a scheme like “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”. To name a few advantages, this scheme comes with an additional allocation to MNREGA, which can help in boosting the economy by providing employment to the migrants. States would also now be allowed to borrow to boost regional activity with a higher limit but with clear reform conditionalities.
Another recently announced “App Innovation Challenge” by the Indian government is also expected to uplift the homegrown apps. Subsequently, Indian entrepreneurship can also be freed from the bonds of Chinese investments by adopting suitable governance models and reforming laws in this space.
But, we can’t be self-reliant in every sector, at least not in the foreseeable future. But looking closely, we can surely say that there are around 12 sectors in which India can easily become self-reliant. India can become a global supplier in food processing, organic farming, iron, aluminium and copper, agrochemicals, electronics, industrial machinery, furniture, leather and shoes, auto parts, textiles, and coveralls, masks, sanitizers, and ventilators.
Going on a self-sufficiency model will enable India to shift from Globalisation to Localisation, to increase the investment in health reforms and schemes, to enable a technology-driven education system, to support state governments and many more.
To conclude, with this scheme the government has tried to create a Swadeshi-type movement to uplift Indian products. However, to attain the goal of a self-reliant India, it is necessary for the government to decentralize its policies, make impactful reforms for rural crowds and labourers, keep poor and underprivileged at priority, make environmental-friendly policies that are rooted to make India a self-sufficient nation globally. History is also evident when India believed in Gandhian path of self-reliance and wonders happened. Gandhi also articulated it as a social interdependence and mutual cooperation in society. On the contrary today, a virus has violated our independence, but we all shall ‘be vocal for local’ and adapt to the new lifestyle of being mutually interdependent and become empowered.
