Opinion | Beware! If Foreign Companies Dominate Every Indian Sector, Self-Reliance Can Go For A Toss

Outlook
Dated: June 15, 2020
By: Santosh Pai


Yes, this is a call for ‘Make in India 2.0’. The recent announcements reflect a more granular understanding of specific issues like land availability and flexibility of labour. However, availability of skilled labour, efficient tax incentives and reliable electri­city supply are few more issues that need to be addressed.
We need to understand what self-reliance means. Do we want Indian companies to make capital investments and start manufacturing activity? Or do we want to attract foreign capital without protection for dom­estic firms? The former requires far reaching reforms to incentivise domestic firms. The latter can be achieved with PMP-like programmes, but in the long term domestic industry may be decimated. That will not be true realisation of self-reliance because every sector will be dominated by foreign companies.
Maybe a combination is the best compromise where Indian companies can gradually move up in the value chain, while foreign investors continue to bring in capital and technology that is not capable of being realised through domestic sources. A robust programme to achieve self-reliance will require rigorous long-term planning, ruthless execution, and transparent market mechanisms.
India certainly has the potential to attract more FDI. The need is to focus on keeping existing foreign investors satisfied. This will encourage them to expand their investments, and more investors will follow suit. Government needs to operate like a business to attract FDI. There should be good marketing, sales and consumer satisfaction.
Today, there is a tragic shortage of grievance redressal for foreign investors. After the initial announcements, the government loses interest in ensuring that foreign companies are able to make profits. This is not a sustainable approach. China offers an exceptional model to demonstrate how FDI can be attracted and retained. We don’t have to ape the Chinese but extracting a few lessons from their experience can be valuable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017 arrested his
Read more

J&K Cricket Board Scam: Chargesheet Filed Against Farooq Abdullah, 3 Others By CBI

OUTLOOK July 16, 2018 The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah and three others. The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and three others in a special court in Srinagar in connection with alleged irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. After the fall of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP government, this is the biggest development that has taken place in the state. The National Conference has not reacted to the chargesheet so far. The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah, the then president of JKCA, Md Saleem Khan - the then general secretary, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza - the then treasuer and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank. The BCCI gave Rs 112 crore t
Read more

As financial insecurity rises in urban India, so does investment in insurance

Image
Scroll.in March 13, 2020 Urban Indians are becoming less confident about their financial security. Up to 58% of them fret over financial independence post retirement, which is a 4% increase from last year. An equal share of urban Indians worry about meeting their daily medical expenses and sustaining their current lifestyle once they stop working. The findings are part of a survey published by Delhi-based Max Life Insurance in association with London-based consultancy Kantar. The firms surveyed 7,014 respondents in 25 cities, including six metros, nine tier-1 cities, and 10 tier-2 cities, between December 2019 and January 2020. Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz The trends Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz A significant share of urban Indians also say their families will have no financial support in the event of the breadwinner’s death. In such a scenario, around 57% believe the family sav
Read more