As India rolls out the welcome mat to manufacturers looking to leave China, what does it have to offer?

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus, which was first seen in Wuhan, a number of foreign entrepreneurs with manufacturing plants in China have lost confidence in the country and started to explore opportunities elsewhere. India has seen a potential opportunity and begun to pursue these investors, offering several incentives.

New Delhi has identified a number of industries, including electronic products, where investment can be encouraged and instructed its foreign missions to launch campaigns for the programme.

Provincial governments in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, have been quick to relax their labour laws and the country is also reportedly developing a land pool nearly double the size of Luxembourg to attract investors.

Politicians believe China’s negative image due to its mishandling of the initial stages of the pandemic, weak intellectual property laws and diplomatic scuffles with many powerful nations including the US, may bring in a significant amount of investment. They hope it will boost the “Make in India” programme adopted in 2014 to encourage manufacturing.

One of its biggest advantages lies in its growing economy. Despite the Covid-19 outbreak and nationwide lockdown, the International Monetary Fund estimates that India will be among a very small number of economies to still grow in 2020.