MAKE IN INDIA VERSUS MADE IN CHINA (11/04/2015)

Two neon sign-boards on shops on the Naiwala Road in Karol Bag drew my attention. Karol bag is a big market of imitation products. One of the boards declared: “Hamare yahan China se bhee saste daam par saamaan milate hain” (We sell stuff at a cost lower than China). The claim appeared quite amusing. Chinese have been able to price their product at a cost lesser than the Indian product, thereby giving Indian entrepreneurs a run for their money. Hence the fact that Indian industry was able to finally sell its product, in their own domestic market, at a cost lower than the China’s, was an achievement that this sign board claimed! Isn’t it black comedy? The second neon sign-board was even more amusing. “Hamare yahan china se bhee achche quality ke saamaan milte hain” (We sell stuff of a better quality than Chinese stuff). It is a widely accepted fact that Chinese products are never acknowledged for their quality or workmanship. The fact that off late Chinese products have come to pose a challenge to Indian products, even in terms of quality and sturdiness, leave aside the price, was news to me, as this board appeared to convey. At a time when the present regime aims to usher in a second “Industrial Revolution”, after the failure of the “socialistic economy based “First Industrial Revolution” of the fifties and sixties, through its “Make in India” campaign, which has been launched with much fanfare, the threat from the dragon economy just across the border is quite real and imposing. It has the gall to challenge the Indian industry on its domestic turf without making a noise, unlike the present regime which makes much noise of its projects and schemes that have remained high on publicity and low in actual content. It’s wake up time for the Indian policy makers.