Sudhakar Gande
I truly believe that the next few decades belong to India. The structural reforms, the investment in infrastructure, the robust banking system, including focus on Make in India and focus on Defence sector will go a long way in improving our manufacturing sector, crucial for our economy.
Various steps being taken towards internationalisation of domestic currency, growing consumption and investment in the country, increasing penetration of telecom/internet users, ease of doing business particularly with respect to higher transparency in taxation (GST), have already yielded results.
These changes will better alternate data availability for underwriting credit, reducing operating costs because of increasing efficiencies (logistics / internal efficiencies post covid / process improvements), increasing availability of equity funds ( attractive equity markets resulting in increasing FDI.
China Plus One strategy
They are improving depth of capital markets and also debt markets, fostering of start up culture, more risk taking appetite amongst graduating students, reducing linguistic barriers, more and more automated / seamless processes reducing compliance costs and many others. This is India’s time to shine and become a reality in China plus One strategy.
If we were to take advantage of China plus One strategy of the West, India should also take a few steps to enhance our internal capacity and efficiency. Of course, we shouldn’t forget there are other South and East Asian countries vying with India to get this China plus One advantage like – Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam etc.
We need to improve our basic infrastructure, educational standards and re-skilling or up-skilling of our workforce, to meet the fast changing global demands and standards. Unless we prove to be an attractive destination, the US and the developed West will not come to us as part of its China plus One strategy.
If we take these timely steps, India will definitely be the break out emerging market in this decade!
(Sudhakar Gande is Chairman, The US -India SME Council, and this article is a curtain raiser to the council’s Incredible Inc 50 awards event in Washington DC on August 10)
