Kicking the import habit: Can India grab a $200-bn business opportunity

PM Modi's call for a self-reliant India, free of its dependence on imports, means opportunity for the domestic industry. But there are many questions that need to be answered, writes Sai Manish

India’s industry could get billions of dollars in business and the country reduce dependence on Chinese imports after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a June 2 speech to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) called for self-reliance in certain sectors. Even if six of the sectors the government has reportedly identified to reduce import dependence were to be considered, $204 billion worth of business could be generated within the country. That’s roughly half of India’s imports of major commodities, or almost two-thirds of it excluding crude oil imports. See table below

Modi, in his speech to CII's virtual conclave,