THE VIRTUAL AIRSTRIKE 2020
As India mourns the martyrdom of 20 Indian Army warriors in the Galwan Valley, who lost their worthy lives fighting against barbaric physical assault from the People’s Liberation Army, without any shots being fired; the resistance against anything that has ‘China’ marked on it, increases.
“This will neither be forgiven, nor forgotten!” says every Indian who feels immensely agitated seeing the series of numerous incidents taking place on the Line of Actual Control, LAC.
Time heals all wounds, they say. But this one has been hit right where it hurts, and as a consequence, comes the assurance from the upper tiers of the diplomatic pyramid, that this martyrdom would not go in vain. With this, the two of the world’s most populous nations, with the two of the biggest armies, and the two of the most influential leaders in the world, are now at loggerheads.
Followed by this, comes the deep held desire of each and every Indian to contribute their own little bit, as the collective agitation against Chinese counterparts soars higher. And this is where the #BoycottChineseProducts campaign bloomed up. Looking at the social media numbers, the hashtag #BoycottChina has gained around 48k mentions, whereas the #BoycottChineseProducts has gained a massive 230+k mentions. But this doesn’t end here.
With social media campaigns gaining humungous popularity, the campaigns have not been failed to be put to practice as well. It’s been more than a week since people have started to abandon and boycott everything that has ‘China’ written on it; clothes, electronics, plastic supplies; whether it’s the products they’ve been already using since as long as they can imagine, or buying new products. The purpose is innocent; to not let the Chinese economy reap the fruits of Indian consumership; as simple as that.
WHAT DO WE GAIN? WHAT DO WE LOSE?
As the clamour of this campaign gets louder and louder, the Trade Unions and councils are requesting people to boycott the demand, usage and purchase of Chinese products, be it raw materials or a full-fledged appliance. This is expected to hit the Chinese market in a big way, which imports goods worth 75 Billion USD approximately to India on an annual basis. The products include toys, plastic goods, and electronics. Along with this, the government of India has issued new guidelines regarding various e-commerce websites and online sellers, where it has been made mandatory to specify the origin of the products that are being sold. The buyers will be able to filter the product-range according to the country of origin, and hence, the demand will shift to the locally-made marketplace, and they will be able to buy products which meet a minimum of 50% criteria of local content-composition. This will not only create a demand for local suppliers and manufacturers but also help in skill development for employment perspectives.
On the other hand, a complete boycott of Chinese goods might put Indian startups in a jiffy. Here, the startups which are mostly powered by western and Chinese stakeholders might be the sufferers. Companies such as Paytm and Flipkart have suffered major losses due to the same. In this perspective, the total boycott by the Indian population might be considered a predictable step, and might prove to be not as beneficial as expected, provided the following pointers:
1. Labeling each Chinese manufactured equipment as ‘Chinese’ will be a tough task.
2. The manufacturing cost of basic equipment and goods might take a leap.
3. India earns a biggie of approximately 1.05Lakh Crores from Chinese exports, and a trade cut-off might add to the already stagnant economy.
4. Chinese market contributes approximately 70% to Indian smartphone marketplace, 20% to the telecom industry, 40% to the television manufacturing industry, 25% to automobile sector, 65% to smartphone applications, 85–90% to solar power industry, 20% to steel and 60% to pharmaceutical industry.
WHY BAN APPS?
Furthermore, on June 29, 2020, the government of India banned 59 Chinese mobile apps. This bold step has formally kicked-off the #BoycottChina campaign in a very straightforward manner. The official order by the government said that these apps were “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of state, defense of India, security of state and public order”.
A ban on these apps, which will soon become nonfunctional in India, implies that these apps will not receive any developer or consumer support from india. Most of the cybersecurity glitches and mishaps that take place today are done through intrusion via these unpatched app versions. Also, the most significant security aspect that comes handy is the user-data and critical security components.
As India-China comes face to face during clashes at the border, a similar condition can be seen on the cyberspace as well, where these two major powers clash.
Self-reliance as an alternative to Chinese counterparts might take a long time to satisfy the Indian consumership. There lies a tough road ahead, which might take a long time to cross. China has been the first country to start off industrial operations after it lifted its COVID-19 lockdown. Even though it was the first to get hit by the pandemic, it has been the first one to recover. To kick off its manufacturing and start off with the recovery process, it will be looking for raw materials, which gives Indian suppliers a business opportunity. But however, what turn this new step taken by the Indian government takes, and which way it takes the Indian economy, is what the entire world’s eyes are fixed upon.
