The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan was started to make India self-sufficient in basic needs in the highly volatile world. Reportedly, Chinese exporters will have to witness a major setback as India has decided to go Aatmanirbhar this Diwali.
India’s gift to China this Diwali
Since India has stepped in with the decision to boycott products from China and is all set to go Aatmanirbhar this Diwali, it will be a huge setback for China and its market. According to reports, Chinese goods are set to witness major losses in India. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has asserted that there will be an estimated loss on part of Chinese markets to the tune of ₹50,000 crores as India is going to celebrate a self-reliant Diwali this year.
India’s homegrown industries will earn a huge profit as the crackers and other cheap festive products from China are being banned. On Friday, the traders’ body said that “India’s domestic sales are expected to receive a major boost this Diwali in view of a surge in the number of customers in markets across the country ahead of the festive season. The Indian economy may see an inflow to the tune of ₹2 lakh crore through consumer spending during Diwali sales.”
It added, “Like previous year, this year too CAIT has given a call of ‘boycott Chinese goods’ and it is certain that China is going to suffer a business loss of about ₹50,000 crore in terms of stoppage of import of Chinese goods by Indian traders.”
To what can be seen as a surprise, CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal reported that “A recent survey conducted by the body’s research arm in 20 ‘distribution cities’ showed that so far no orders for Diwali goods, firecrackers, or other items have been placed with Chinese exporters by Indian traders or importers.”
However, it was till last year when Indian traders and exporters used to import goods worth about ₹70,000 crores from China during the festive seasons. Interestingly, China reportedly had suffered a loss of around Rs 5,000 crores and Rs 500 crores during the Rakhi festival and Ganesh Chaturthi respectively this year.
India made the best of China’s setback
Despite the worldwide craze for Chinese apps like Tiktok, PubG, and many more, China had to face a huge setback after India pulled out their apps. The market share of Chinese apps in India has dropped substantially from 44 per cent in 2018 to only 29 per cent in 2020, as per a China Internet Report 2021 (by South China Morning Post).
With the fall of Chinese apps in the market, Indian publishers managed to get a larger share of the ranking. Based on the latest September data of App Annie, Indian Publishers who only had a 20 per cent share in 2020, are currently holding 60 per cent of the top ten apps in India that include MX Taka Tak, Moj, ShareChat, Josh, and Public among others.
Read more: From 20% in 2020 to 60% in 2021 – How Indian Apps made the best of Chinese App ban
China is reeling under a new and stronger power crisis. The manufacturing powerhouses of China – Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces are the worst hit. Together they account for one-third of the Chinese economy, and lead China’s colossal exports industry. Strict measures have been announced to cut electricity use in these provinces and manufacturers have warned that it could lead to lower outputs in the three provinces.
While, on the contrary, the Modi government has set an export target of $400 billion for the financial year 2021-22. Until September, that is in the first six months of the current financial year, almost half of that target stood achieved. Exports from India till September this year touched $197 billion. This is an increase of no less than a whopping 56.92 percent in the year-ago (2020) period and 23.84 percent compared to April-September 2019. In the first half of the last financial year, India’s exports stood at USD 125.61 billion.
Thus, the mission to make the country aatmanirbhar in edible oil was long due, and the Modi government’s decision to provide technological, monetary, and policy support to edible oil farmers would ensure that in the next decade, India emerges as a major exporter of edible oil just like that of rice and wheat.
From being self-reliant to produce edible oils on its own to manufacturing its own vaccines to fight the pandemic, India’s journey to becoming self-sufficient has been commendable. While several countries across the world would never allow India to become self-sufficient and self-reliant, India does not seem to stop and is heading towards its success in making India aatmanirbhar.