COVID led to China+1 strategy for manufacturing, FDI increased in India: NITI Aayog CEO

As the COVID-19 pandemic has left behind a trail of devastation across the world with nearly 38 lakh deaths worldwide, the countries across the world still struggle to contain the pandemic and economies grapple to get themselves back on track. Apart from the United States and advanced European countries which took a hit due to the pandemic, India was also among those which suffered immensely during the second wave of the Coronavirus in the country.

Although the pandemic wreaked the world economy, it has given a ray of hope for India to become an alternate manufacturing hub of the world on par with China, according to NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

The chief of the Central Government's think tank has opined that COVID-19 has accelerated a change and global supply chains will get relocated with India being at its core.

"I think it's a huge opportunity. COVID-19 has accelerated the change and global supply chains will get relocated. There will be a China plus one strategy for manufacturing. A lot of FDI has come into India and it is an opportunity for us to attract the best manufacturers, the NITI Aayog CEO said while speaking with ANI.

"It is also an opportunity to make ourselves easy and simple, do away with a lot of rules and regulation that we built up over the years. We should make India the simplest and easiest place to do business and use technology. It is also an opportunity to get into cutting edge areas of growth," he added.

China, Coronavirus Pandemic and changing geopolitics

NITI Aayog CEO's statements assume significance as after the Coronavirus pandemic which originated from China and wreaked havoc across the world, several developed countries have had second thoughts on being solely dependant on China for their manufacturing requirements.

A majority of the nations such as the US, Japan, South Korea which relied on China have contemplated making the switch after China's debacle in managing the deadly virus outbreak from spreading across the world. Countries have directed their corporations to either relocate production units from China or set up alternate units outside China.

Former US ambassador to India Ken Juster opined that India has an opportunity to become an alternate manufacturing hub with several countries finding it increasingly difficult to operate with China for its aggressive and brazen nature. China has been called out by the global community multiple times over a range of issues, for eg - its unilateral imposition of national security law in Hong Kong threatening the autonomy of the trading city, its aggression in Indo-Pacific waters, its human rights violations of millions of Uighur Muslims who have been jailed in detention centres and the discreet handling of COVID-19 pandemic due to which the virus spread across the world.

The world also demands a transparent probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was originated from Wuhan. Several leading experts and scientific communities across the world have called the SARS-CoV-2 a man-made virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and not a naturally occurring phenomenon as maintained by China.