Industry mulls deep localisation to reduce dependency on China

The ongoing standoff between India and China and the subsequent sentiment towards boycotting Chinese products is expected to provide further fillip to Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s campaign for an #Atmanirbhar, (Self-reliant) India. Joining the bandwagon is the Indian automobile components industry – a significant importer of Chinese products, it is now looking at strategies to reduce its dependency by localizing products.  According to Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), in 2018-19, India imported auto components worth USD 17.6 billion, of which 27% i.e. USD 4.75 billion worth of value were sourced from China. “There is no denying that we need to be Atmanirbhar,” says Vinnie Mehta, Director General, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) adding that the auto industry in India has already started to de-risk itself and is working on deep-localisation. “The recent stand-off between India and China will only hasten the process,” he says.   However, Mehta highlights the fact that the industry should avoid any knee-jerk reactions as it is still recovering from post-lockdown impact, which has affected the entire value chain. “Post the lockdowns, our value chains, have been severely disrupted and are in disarray, we are gradually piecing them together. Any further disruptions would only