Despite efforts to reduce reliance on imports, China remains India's largest trading partner, with 18% share of imports in July 2024
Rising imports from emerging economies like Vietnam show India is losing its competitive edge and must strengthen its domestic production capabilities
India's R&D expenditure remains below 1% of GDP – significantly lower than those like the US and China – which limits its ability to compete globally
With under 5% of Indian patents citing other Indian patents, the country struggles with knowledge localisation
India has a low ratio of big businesses to unicorns at 0.1, against the US’s 0.9, and China’s 0.4, highlighting the need for scaling up startups into large corporations
India must boost R&D and support innovation and business expansion to avoid the middle-income trap and achieve sustainable growth