China’s continued opposition to India’s effort to declare Pakistan-based terrorists as international terrorists has angered many Indians. Since then, a call to boycott Chinese products has been trending on social media.
Although, it seems like a peculiarly revengeful tactic to terminate the Chinese dominance on the Indian goods market; this hyper-nationalist reaction by the Indian crowd might land India back into the stone age.
The manufacturing industry of China is undoubtedly the world’s largest, and is been identified as the base to almost every tech company worldwide. India’s electronics import from China accounts for approximately 8% of the total imports. The facts clearly state that if the boycott comes to be practical (which is nearly impossible), India will face a huge tech deficit in the coming times.
5 prime technologies that India will lose if it boycotts Chinese products.
1. Smartphones
The smartphones from all the brands worldwide use Chinese components in their manufacturing.
2. Power Electronics
For those who don’t know, power electronics are the solid-state electronics that are used to control and convert the electric power. For example – diodes, thyristors, and transistors. The power grids all over India use Chinese imports.
3. Automobiles
A full-fledged boycott of the Chinese products will impact a huge blow to the Indian automobile sector, considered that every automobile company worldwide is dependent on China for the auto-parts.
Well, at least, the roads will become traffic free!
4. Household Electronics
Nothing sells like electronics in India: from laptops, TVs, fridges and ACs to the stabilizers required to maintain them. Not just the MNCs like Samsung, Philips, and Panasonic but the Indian companies like CG, Prestige, and Usha; all either make their appliances in China or source their components from there.
5. Solar Panels
Even the mere thought of boycotting Chinese products puts the Modi Govt’s vision of achieving 100 GW solar capacity by 2022 under question. Meanwhile, India’s Domestic manufacturing capacity remains far too small to cater for its giant PV demands, China serves as the largest PV Cell module supplier to the country’s solar panel manufacturers.
From household technology to the power supplying grids, India is solely dependent upon China for fulfilling its huge demands. Although the countries like the US, Russia and Japan also contribute to a huge share in India’s import trade, but man, nothing competes with China in electronics.
China has a huge workforce employed at low labour cost which makes China stand out among the other manufacturing mammoths of the world.
So, it’s time that we think logically instead of being emotionally guided nationalists. India presently lies far behind to compete with the Chinese manufacturing industry. The “Make in India” campaign is still in its initial period. It will take years for India to become a major export house, till then, it’s better we accept that we need China. Otherwise, I literally see India going back to the stone age.
