China can be replaced by India as a leading low-cost, high-technology telecom and technology equipment supplier, provided it gets the right amount of government incentives and funding to compete with global players in the world market. The feeling that the government needs to strengthen the industry by helping it to come out of the financial depression, to make India a strong competitor to China was a dominant reflection by a panel in an ongoing series of webinars being organized by Foreign Correspondent Club South Asia (FCC).

FCC organized a special webinar on India’s campaign towards self-reliance. Opening the session at the webinar CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra said: “AtmaNirbhar Bharat does not mean turning away from international trade. In fact, we want to become the enablers of international trade by taking the lead in the supply chain. India can adopt and change but we need leadership from the government in making AtmaNirbhar Bharat a reality. I am glad the Modi government has given a clarion call. We need to convert this into a momentum and increase consumption for India to be self-reliant now.”

As the world faces an unprecedented crisis, India has chosen a renewed path of a self-reliant economy, with Indian PM Modi announcing Rs 20-Lakh Crore stimulus package “AtmaNirbhar Bharat” (Self Reliant India) which is 10 % of its economy.

Rajan Mathews, DG, COAI said: “We have talent and we must monetise our capacity to create value. invest heavily in R&D and hence have been left behind in the IPR game. We have to incentivise R&D if we want to make AtmaNirbhar Bharat a reality. We must also consider Open Source as a serious business opportunity and become smarter at trade negotiations. There is a need to prioritise two-three specific industries as other countries have done. We must make credit cheaper and get money into the hands of people who can create value. We need to empower start-ups and individuals to develop our capacities.