India's window of opportunity for attracting companies is closing

The window of opportunity for attracting companies looking to divert investments from the Asian manufacturing giant is closing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphasis on local manufacturing and supply chain may be a response to the Covid-19 crisis but much before the disease-struck China, India wanted to emulate the Asian manufacturing giant’s industrial prowess. In January 2018, when a trade war broke out between the US and China, the NDA government saw in it an opportunity to push its Make in India programme.

Through extensive data mining and discussions with industry, the commerce ministry tried to get exporters to tap the China market and persuade US importers to look at India as a sourcing centre. By December 2019, however,