The recent face off between Indian and Chinese troops at the LAC led to dozens of casualties on both sides; with as many as 20 Indian soldiers reported to have been martyred and 10 being captured by the Chinese who have been since returned in an effort to de-escalate the matter diplomatically.
This incident, coupled with other Chinese incursions in the past few weeks has led to anti-China feelings among the common population in India with the hashtag ‘#boycottChina’ trending on social media since the news of the demise of our soldiers was reported. Videos have been in circulation of people thrashing Chinese made products like TVs and even burning effigies of Kim Jong Un (for some reason).
This ‘movement’ could be (and should be) construed as a ‘spur of the moment’ nationalist/patriotic call for action and might not sustain beyond a few weeks. Because let’s face it, we are too overdependent on Chinese products to ‘boycott’ them on a pan-India scale.
Even though ‘Made in China’ and ‘Chinese Maal’ are generally used in derogatory and demeaning ways, we have become too used to having those same cheap products as essential parts of our lives. From the myriad of kids’ toys to daily use electronics, the Chinese have a strong hold in the consumer goods and consumer discretionary sectors of the Indian market.
Let’s take mobile phones for example, here are the companies with the highest market share in Indian mobile phone segment:
Xiaomi (China)- 30%
Vivo (China)- 17%
Samsung (South Korea)- 16%
Realme (China)- 14%
Oppo (China)- 12%
Others -11%
The others include companies like Apple, whose parts are produced in China; OnePlus, another Chinese company whose latest phone OnePlus 8 pro was sold out within minutes of its online debut in India (boycott?)
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Clearly, China is dominating the mobile phones In India with an overwhelming majority of Indian population using the phones because of their inexpensive prices and a range of features.
It is ironic that India, largely known as an ‘IT hub’ does not even have a world renowned Mobile phone or laptop manufacturing company.
The Chinese stronghold is not limited to the electronics, we can see products labelled as ‘Made in China’ everywhere around us. So the question is, can we move away from this? And if yes, how?
It has to be taken into account that the shift from Chinese products to Indian ones will not be an overnight process, it’ll take dedicated effort to uplift our industries which could eventually replace them.
Shashi Tharoor, in his book Pax Indica, describes China’s “smoothly functioning top-down communist hierarchy” as one of the advantages the country has over India. And this way of running the country reflects in the success it has had in penetrating the World market in al kinds of daily use products.
India must take a page out of China’s book by implementing this ‘top-down’ approach to invigorate it’s own production of goods, with dedicated setups for different industries and the mobile phone industry could be at the forefront.
There have been reports that Apple could be moving the production of their latest iPhone SE to India. And Microsoft and Google too are keen on having strong presence in a country known for its IT exports.
India’s own smartphone manufacturers like Micromaxx, Lava, Karbonn could ride this wave of Anti-China sentiment and stage a comeback with better designed and implemented products for the Indian consumers. Reliance Jio could be another major player in India’s smartphone industry.
The ongoing Digital India and Make-In-India schemes shall provide the perfect platform for the production of electronics goods, starting with mobile phones, laptops and eventually creating a ripple effect to propel India towards a revolution of sorts where Indian goods in all the segments would then be considered as truly world class.
It will take patience, dedication, strategic planning and great implementation to make our country independent of Chinese products and become truly ‘Aatmanirbhar’.
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