India will become Atmanirbhar if attention is paid to 15 sector ASSOCHAM

New Delhi: If the goal of making India Atmanirbhar (Self-Reliant) has to be achieved, special attention must be provided to 15 sectors. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the apex organisation of the entrepreneurs in the country, claimed that if the production capacities in these sectors are increased, the country can become Atmanirbhar in the next two to three years.

The lockdown imposed in view of the Coronavirus pandemic has affected the Indian economy. To bail out the country from this economic crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a relief package of ₹20 trillion. At this time, the Prime Minister also announced the Atmanirbhar India resolve. Some schemes were announced under this Atmanirbhar campaign. The Prime Minister had also appealed to the ASSOCHAM and other industry organisations to focus on the campaign.

Against this background, the ASSOCHAM, which represents 450,000 companies and businesses in the country, prepared a list of 15 sectors. ASSOCHAM has identified these 15 sectors based on the information regarding the items imported into India other than crude oil. These include industries like electronics, coal, steel, non-ferrous metals, vegetable oil, plastics and raw materials for pharmaceuticals. Despite the lockdown, electronics worth USD 2.7 billion were imported into the country in May. In normal circumstances, the figure stands at USD 5 billion per month.

Such a huge import of electronics leads to a major outflow of foreign exchange. Therefore, ASSOCHAM has said that special attention should be paid to this sector. ASSOCHAM also expressed confidence that this sector will definitely benefit from the concessions and incentive schemes recently announced by the union government.

Following the rising tension with China, the demand for banning the import of various items from China is gaining ground. Whereas, China is ridiculing the Indian Boycott China campaign. Some people from the country are claiming that if the import of Chinese products is banned, the country may face difficulties. But many industries from the country are saying that they are prepared to increase their production in order to reduce imports. Many private companies have cancelled their agreements with Chinese companies. On Monday, Sajjan Jindal, from the JSW group, appealed that entrepreneurs have to collaborate to stop imports from China.

Against this background, ASSOCHAM has announced this list. The sectors featuring in this list are the ones in which maximum products are imported from China. 43% of the electronics imported into the country comes from China. Therefore, if the Indian production capacities in the sectors identified by ASSOCHAM are increased, it is apparent that China will lose a huge market.