"Ever since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, many in the West have discussed the need for supply-chain diversification to decrease their dependence on China for manufactured goods. Recently, these conversations reemerged as China faced new
lockdowns that paused economic activities. Due to its large and young population, lower wages, and relatively diverse industries, India has been a popular candidate for replacing China as a manufacturing powerhouse in the global supply chain. As an
English-speaking liberal democracy as well as a member of the Quad and the newly introduced Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), India also enjoys close relations with Western countries, many of whose business leaders happen to be ethnic Indians.
Additionally, last month, the United Nations predicted that India’s population would surpass China’s in 2023.
...
Unfortunately for India, due to its insufficient labor quality and infrastructure investment, fractured society, market restrictions, and trade protectionism, the South Asian nation is unlikely to replace China in the global manufacturing supply chain
anytime soon.
To begin with, India’s labor quality and infrastructure availability fall far behind China’s. Many people consider India’s low labor costs a key advantage vis-à-vis China. ... However, what good are low labor costs if the benefits are also
relatively low? Despite India’s laudable development achievements in the past few decades, its capability enhancements have lagged far behind China’s.
...
Not to mention, India’s state capacity is less extensive than China’s, and many Indians who grow up in slums live their entire lives without government files. Therefore, India’s lag in labor capability enhancement behind China is likely worse than
what official data suggest.
...
Besides labor, manufacturing also requires capital, especially infrastructure. Few developing countries can compete with China in this regard, and India is no exception.
...
In addition, India’s fractured society diminishes the advantages of its large population. Throughout history, India has been a more diverse country than China. It consists of people of different classes, ethnicities, religions, and languages. As
economists Rohit Lamba and Arvind Subramanian put it, “constituting one-seventh of humanity, fissured horizontally by region, religion and language, and ossified vertically by caste and patriarchy, India is as much a subcontinent of quasi-sovereign
states as a unitary country.” Such immense diversity across multiple dimensions might have had negative impacts on India’s economic development. "
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/india-can%E2%80%99t-dethrone-china-world%E2%80%99s-manufacturing-power-204076
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