Arise Bharat

Recent global events have driven home a crucial truth: economic sovereignty is essential for a nation’s security and stability. India, like other nations, faces its own set of vulnerabilities. To truly become Aatma Nirbhar Bharat (self reliant India), we must move past the rhetoric and adopt a hard edged, data driven strategy. China’s own experience provides a compelling lesson. When faced with external pressures, such as the US trade war and technology restrictions on companies like Huawei, China quickly pivoted to bolster its technological self reliance and localize critical supply chains. India now faces a similar challenge and has much to learn from this proactive approach.

The Chokepoints: Where We Are Exposed

Despite its rapid growth, India’s economy remains exposed in several key areas. The data is clear and stark:

• Reliance on Chinese Imports: In 2022, Chinese goods made up a significant 43.9% of India’s imports in electronics, telecom, and electrical machinery. Even when alternative products are available, many Indian manufacturers still rely on Chinese components due to a lack of affordable domestic options.
• Energy Sector Vulnerability: Approximately 70% of India’s solar power capacity is built using Chinese made panels and equipment.
• Pharmaceutical Dependency: Although India is known as the “pharmacy of the world,” its pharmaceutical industry is heavily reliant on China for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). About 70% of India’s APIs by volume come from China, representing imports worth approximately $3.18 billion in FY 2022–23. This dependency was highlighted during the 2020–21 COVID crisis, when Chinese export restrictions on APIs caused shortages in India.
• Manufacturing Stagnation: India’s manufacturing sector has been stagnant, contributing only around 15% of GDP for decades. This stagnation, with the share hovering between 13% and 17% over the last 20 years, signals that India is not creating enough factory jobs or moving up the value chain, a classic symptom of the middle income trap.
• Low R&D Investment: India’s gross R&D spending is extremely low, at just 0.64–0.66% of GDP. This is far below China’s roughly 2.4% and the US’s 3.5%. Furthermore, only about 36% of India’s R&D is funded by industry, compared to over 70% in China and the US¹⁵. We are importing innovation rather than creating it ourselves.
• Logistical Inefficiency: While India’s logistics costs have improved, they still sit at around 8-9% of GDP. This is higher than China’s roughly 8% and the global best practices, making Indian goods less price competitive.

These issues, when combined, represent clear potential chokepoints that could leave India’s growth and sovereignty at the mercy of external powers.

The Hard Edge: A Roadmap for India’s Self-Reliance

India today faces a confluence of external pressures: tariffs, threats of extra-territorial sanctions, and a global trade environment increasingly fractured by protectionism. To navigate this turbulence and emerge as a truly robust, Atma Nirbhar economy, India must confront its inherent vulnerabilities with clear-eyed realism and a commitment to difficult, systemic change. This is not merely an aspirational journey but a pragmatic imperative for economic security and moving beyond the middle-income trap.

Taming the Bureaucratic Labyrinth

This is perhaps our Achilles’ heel. As Amitabh Kant, the former NITI Aayog CEO, once controversially but candidly noted, “Tough reforms are very difficult in the Indian context… We have too much of democracy.” While his words sparked debate, the underlying truth he pointed to was the inertia and complexity that can stifle rapid economic transformation. It’s not about less democracy; it’s about a bureaucracy that shifts from a mindset of control to one of facilitation.

• Digital Integration: Paperless, end-to-end digital processes for clearances, with public tracking.
• Single-Window Clearances: A single application, time-bound legal approvals, and automatic penalties for delays.
• Performance Accountability: Bureaucrats held accountable for economic growth and investment, with swift consequences for inefficiency.

Skilling for a Future, Not Just a Paycheck

India’s demographic dividend is often touted as its greatest asset, yet its potential remains largely untapped due to a skills crisis. The “Skills India” initiative, now over a decade old, has seen substantial financial outlays (The Government of India has allocated billions to skilling since 2009 through major initiatives like the overall Skill India Programme (including PMKVY, PM-NAPS, and JSS) and the new PM Vishwakarma scheme launched in 2023, which had an initial outlay of ₹13,000 crore for five years) but with profoundly disappointing results. A sobering statistic reveals that only 4% of those entering the job market possess the requisite skills for employment. The failure of organizations like NSDC, often attributed to corruption and shortsightedness of top management, underscores a critical flaw: an overemphasis on short-term, certification-driven skilling that often fails to equip individuals with industry-relevant competencies.

The roadmap for a truly skilled workforce demands a radical shift towards long-term, deep skilling:

• Industry-Driven Curriculum Development: The education system, particularly vocational and technical training, must be inextricably linked to industry needs. Sector Skill Councils should be empowered to design curricula that are dynamic, responsive to emerging technologies, and constantly updated in collaboration with industry leaders.
• Investment in Advanced Technical Education: We must significantly scale up access to high-quality, specialized education in cutting-edge fields like AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, and green energy. This requires substantial investment in state-of-the-art labs, qualified faculty, and research infrastructure.
• Revitalising Apprenticeships: The existing apprenticeship program must move beyond compliance to focus on substantial, long-term on-the-job training in high-demand skills, ensuring a direct, quality pipeline from learning to employment. Digital monitoring of training quality and outcomes, rather than mere enrollment figures, is essential
• Emphasis on Foundational Skills: Beyond technical proficiencies, the education system must instill critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and digital literacy from an early age. These foundational skills are essential for adaptability in a rapidly evolving job market.

Retaining India’s Brightest Minds

For India to truly become Atma Nirbhar and a technological powerhouse, it must not only produce talent but also retain its best minds. The brain drain, while often framed as an individual choice, is a systemic failure to create an ecosystem where top-tier professionals can thrive, innovate, and contribute meaningfully.

Retaining the best minds requires:

• World-Class Research Ecosystems: We must significantly increase public and private investment in research and development, aiming to bridge the stark R&D expenditure gap with leading nations. This means creating and adequately funding cutting-edge research institutions, providing competitive grants, and fostering an environment of intellectual freedom and collaborative research.
• Rewarding Innovation and Risk-Taking: Our system must move beyond a culture that penalizes failure and instead celebrates innovation, even if it doesn’t immediately yield commercial success. This includes intellectual property protection, easy access to venture capital for innovative startups, and recognition systems that value scientific and technological breakthroughs.
• Attractive Career Pathways in Manufacturing and Deep Tech: We need to consciously create appealing career trajectories within India’s manufacturing and deep technology sectors. This involves offering competitive compensation, opportunities for advanced research and development, leadership roles, and a clear path for professional growth that rivals opportunities abroad.
• Improving Quality of Life Infrastructure: Beyond professional opportunities, retaining top talent also depends on quality of life. This includes robust urban infrastructure, access to high-quality education for their children, efficient public services, and a vibrant cultural and social environment.

A Purposeful Industrial Policy:

It is imperative to  identify and focus on a few strategic sectors where import dependence is a national security risk, such as advanced electronics, semiconductors, and defense technologies. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes should be expanded and closely monitored to ensure they genuinely promote domestic value addition, not just the assembly of imported kits. The incentives, like tax breaks and grants, should be structured to reward companies for making and innovating in India. Our approach must leverage private sector dynamism, avoiding the inefficiencies that can arise from top-down, non-market-driven policies.

Unleashing R&D and Innovation:

The R&D spending gap is a national vulnerability. India should set a firm goal to increase its Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) to 1.2–1.5% of GDP within five years, and ultimately to 2%. This requires more government funding and a significantly larger role for the private sector^. Policies should encourage businesses to invest in research through measures like extended R&D tax credits, facilitating industry academic partnerships, and streamlining intellectual property processes. We should also increase venture funding for deep tech startups. The goal is to drive leapfrog innovation, not just incremental improvements.

Quick Wins: Building Momentum

While the long-term roadmap is crucial, there are immediate “quick wins” that can build momentum and demonstrate progress:

• Establish a National API Stockpile: To address pharmaceutical dependency, the government can immediately establish a strategic national stockpile of critical APIs. This would provide a buffer against supply chain disruptions, like those seen during the COVID crisis, and signal a commitment to health security.
• Prioritize a “Top 10” Policy: The government can identify the top 10 most critical components and raw materials for key industries and announce a fast-track policy to incentivize their domestic production within a two-year window. This focused approach would deliver tangible results quickly and set a precedent for future efforts.
• Launch a Digital Bureaucracy Dashboard: To tackle administrative hurdles, a public dashboard could be created to track the status of all major project approvals. This would bring transparency and create pressure on officials to process applications efficiently, providing a visible indicator of bureaucratic reform.

A Non Negotiable Imperative

Prime Minister Modi has rightly stated that self reliance is about building domestic capabilities, not just balancing trade. The data confirms that we still have significant work to do. The path forward is not easy. It requires a willingness to break old habits and a relentless focus on execution. By learning from global examples, doubling down on innovation, and retaining our best talent, India can build the resilience needed to withstand external shocks. Aatma Nirbhar Bharat will then become not just a slogan, but a robust national strategy for the decades ahead.