Consider banning Chinese power equipment imports, IEEMA urges Govt

The government should consider banning imports of equipment related to power generation and telecom from China, the Indian Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA) said on Friday.

"Government should look into this issue of increasing Chinese electrical equipment imports. We would like the Chinese equipment not to come in the powersector. It is detrimental to the interests of the country," Director General of IEEMA Sunil Misra told reporters here.

Misra warned that the dependence on China for equipment belonging to this critical sector may lead to a "dangerous" situation for India as their servicing and spare parts are unlikely to be available in case there is a conflict of an economic standoff with China.

He said that cheaper Chinese imports in the heavy industries segment, including electrical equipment, have led to under-utilisation of the domestic capacity in the capital goods sector.

Electrical equipment imports from China continued to increase in the last two decadesbecause of which country has incurred a loss of several crores of rupees, Misra said.

The Chinese power equipmentsare not suitable for coal -based thermal plants in the country as these equipments are suitable for Chinese coal having high sulphur and low calorie, Misra stated.

Meanwhile, 14th edition of ELECRAMA 2020, the flagship showcase of the Indian electrical industry ecosystem will be held from January 18-22 at India export mart at Greater NOIDA.

ELECRAMA 2020 is global connects for the Indian industry, SME's and start-ups in the electricity domain. More than 450 foreign exhibitors from 60 countries and visitors from 120 countries will participate along with 650 international buyers, ELECRAMA 2020 chairman Anil Saboo said.

With the emerging global reputation of Indian electrical equipment for sourcing products and components, we aim to increase our global share from one per cent to 5 per cent in the near future, Saboo said.