Friday, February 28, 2014: The Indian Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) has reportedly said that the government should consider banning imports of equipment related to power generation and telecom from China.
According to a PTI report, Sunil Misra, the director general of IEEMA said, “Government should look into this issue of increasing Chinese electrical equipment imports. We would like the Chinese equipment not to come in the power and telecom sectors. It is detrimental to the interests of the country.”
Misra cautioned that the dependence on China for equipment belonging to these critical sectors may lead to a ‘dangerous’ situation for India. The country does not have the proper servicing channels and spare parts, which are unlikely to be available, in case there is a conflict or economic standoff with China.
Praful Patel, the Heavy Industries minister had recently said in Parliament, that cheaper Chinese imports in the heavy industries segment include electrical equipment, have led to ‘under-utilisation’ of the domestic capacity in the capital goods sector.
As per information received from EEPC India (Engineering Exports Promotion Council), the electrical equipment imports from China increased by 61.53 per cent, from 2009-10 to 2012-13. The figures indicate twice the growth rate of such imports from the rest of the world.
