Unlike Pakistan which our government can write off as an extremist or jihadist country, China is a whole different kind of beast. You can't just ignore China by repeating the nationalist rhetoric or making populist acts like banning Chinese apps in the Google Play Store. The great economist Chanakya once said that there is no shame in learning stuff even from our enemies.
Its easy to criticize China for its blatant support for Pakistan and its sponsored militancy in Kashmir, and pour all our hatred over it. But consider for a moment how equipped and advanced our enemy is compared to us. They hopped on to LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization) and economic reforms almost a decade before we did in 1991. They had the foresight to see the Electronics and IT boom way ahead of everyone else, today most smart-phones, computers and other electronic goods are manufactured in China either directly or indirectly.
Yesterday, we shut down the AliExpress app, which is used by many Indian traders and even some end consumers to import electronic goods directly from China. Its parent company Alibaba is even believed to finance Indian technology startups. Have you considered even for a moment why our startups are depending on China for financing, why our own banks and financial institutions are unable to cater their demand? Have you also considered how difficult it is for an average dude in India to start a Company/LLP, the tedious and expensive processes involved in registering for GST, procuring an eMudra digital signature, going through formalities for TDS and labor contracting, etc.?
Its no wonder that China is miles ahead of us in terms of economic development. We never really got liberated from license raaj in 1991, the economic reforms were surely an improvement but not a solution to this glaring problem. I can understand the Desh Bhakt's emotional outpour when we compare ourselves to China, I can also understand the CCP's covert connections to Chinese companies and the strategic challenge it poses to everyone. But the solution to this problem can't be found by being emotional or angry, self improvement and self introspection is the only way forward.
And self improvement also involves paving way for more competition by bringing in more startups in the limelight instead of just old elitist firms like Infosys and TCS. Today only the STPI (Karnataka) awarded this "IT Ratna of Karnataka" award to Infosys. Don't you think we should support smaller companies, startups and MSMEs instead of perpetuating the raaj of these crony capitalists? The government's task is to support the weak and underdog, not enabling the one who is already rich and looks after himself. Even most IT contracts in Karnataka state govt. and allied agencies like HESCOM (Hubli Electricity Supply Company) go only to large companies like Infosys and TCS. This leads to stagnation and doesn't let new talent surface in the industry, we will never be able to compete with China with this attitude.
This also isn't about just Karnataka, this kind of thing happens all over the country. I really hope the government starts giving smaller startups and SMEs a chance instead of always favoring the old guard.
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