Subbarao said the success of 'Make in India' hinges on competitiveness, not protectionism

PTI New Delhi

Sounding a note of caution, former RBI Governor 

D Subbarao on Monday said that 'Make in India' should not transform into 'Make all that India needs' as it would hurt investments in the country and impact productivity. Subbarao further said the punitive 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports imposed by the US will raise the costs of Indian goods in the most important overseas market, which is America. "If 'Make in India' degenerates into 'Make all that India needs', we risk losing the chance to attract investment away from China.

"The tariffs remind us that openness, not isolation, is the path to sustainable growth," he said. Subbarao said the success of 'Make in India' hinges on competitiveness, not protectionism. "Atmanirbhar Bharat, an aspiration that the Prime Minister reiterated in his Independence Day speech, must mean strategic self-reliance in sensitive areas like defence and energy, not blanket self-sufficiency," he said.

According to him, 'Make in India' was conceived as positioning the country as an export-driven manufacturing hub-making in India, not just for India, but for the world. "Punitive US tariffs cut directly into this ambition by raising the cost of Indian goods in our most important overseas market," Subbarao said, adding that investors considering India as an alternative to China in their China+1 diversification strategy will hesitate to lock into an India that is saddled with the highest tariffs in Asia.