HINDI CHINI BHAI BHAI

"Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai" was the catch phrase of the 1950s. This phrase, coined by the Government under Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru remained quite popular till the Indo China war of 1962.

It is interesting to note that in the late 1950s, it was Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru himself, who told his then envoy to China that in his opinion, China was "Arrogant, Deviant, Hypocritical and Highly Unreliable".

However, the two countries have come a long way from the time they viewed each other as enemies, after the 1962 war, as they seek to become leaders in the global economy with many joint business ventures. They also have to deal with many cobwebs of the past and suspicions of each others intentions.

It is relevant to note that both India and China are key players from Asia in the global market. The economic strengths of these 2 countries are considered by many as complementary. China is perceived to be strong in manufacturing and infrastructure, whereas India in services and IT. China is stronger in hardware and India in software. China is stronger with physical markets, while it is financial markets for India.

At the industrial level, China is our major competitor in sectors like hardware, electronics etc. The Small Scale Industries (SSI), which contributes 35-40 percent to total manufacturing in India suffers most because of Chinese goods in the Indian market. For example trade data reveals that almost 60 percent of Small Industrial Units in the Thane-Bhiwandi belt near Mumbai have closed down. Many others have stopped manufacturing their own goods and now import them from China. That being so, many Indian workers have lost their jobs. Thus the SSI's objective of providing employment to rural youth is defeated completely.

A point to note is that in the past one decade, Chinese labour has been trained in the skills of manufacturing electronic goods like semiconductors, telecom equipment, power equipment etc. This has helped them capture the Indian market. If not for certain roadblocks, the Indian labour can also meet these challenges.

Chinese manufacturing units produce goods on a large scale, and are using the Indian market merely to dump their products, killing the Indian units.

During Diwali Chinese crackers are sold, which reportedly contain the very harmful & toxic Sulphur. The Chinese crackers being cheaper, attracted many Indian shoppers. As a result, the Indian fireworks industry saw a decline in revenue.

Most of us sitting have at sometime done the same…that is bought a Chinese toy, light bulb, plug, rakhis, holi colours, or maybe the festival lights or a deco item!!

This is how even the home based or cottage industries of India have also been affected.    

However, I believe that the Indian tiger has what it takes to take on the might of the Chinese dragon. However, there are certain roadblocks which we must take care of first:

1. The biggest hurdle is bureaucracy and red tape, which poses as a major hindrance to industrial growth must change its way of working.
   
2. Secondly, the weak labour policies, due to which Indian labour is unable to compete with the Chinese in the skilled sector (Electronics, Hardware etc.)
   
3. Additionally, we must introduce stringent quality measures, to ensure that the "dumping" of substandard Chinese products does not take place.
   
4. The Indian govt must offer better rebates to home based and SSIs so that their products reach the consumers at a lower cost.