Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again raised questions over the effectiveness of the government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative, asserting that India continues to rely heavily on imports, especially from China, for manufacturing key products like televisions and smartphones.
क्या आप जानते हैं कि भारत में बने ज़्यादातर TVs का 80% हिस्सा चीन से आता है?
‘मेक इन इंडिया’ के नाम पर हम सिर्फ असेंबली कर रहे हैं – असली मैन्युफैक्चरिंग नहीं। iPhone से लेकर TV तक – पुर्ज़े विदेश से आते हैं, हम बस जोड़ते हैं।
छोटे उद्यमी निर्माण करना चाहते हैं, लेकिन न नीति… pic.twitter.com/xNVXbRjuei
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 19, 2025
In a pointed tweet, Gandhi said:
“Did you know that nearly 80% of components used in TVs made in India come from China? Under the name of ‘Make in India’, we are merely assembling, not truly manufacturing.”
“No Policy, No Support for Small Manufacturers”
Rahul Gandhi emphasized that while small entrepreneurs are willing to engage in real manufacturing, they are held back by lack of supportive policy, high taxes, and corporate monopolies that dominate the industrial space.
He claimed that the core of India’s industrial policy benefits select corporates, choking opportunities for grassroots-level enterprises and innovation.
“As long as India remains dependent on imported parts and stays stuck on the assembly line, talk of jobs, growth, and Make in India will remain mere speeches,” he wrote.
Call for Ground-Level Reforms
In his statement, Gandhi urged the government to bring real structural reforms that would allow India to become a genuine manufacturing power, capable of competing with countries like China. He argued that unless India builds its own components and technology ecosystem, economic self-reliance and employment generation will remain distant dreams.
Context: Growing Debate on \’Make in India\’
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks come amid increasing scrutiny of India’s manufacturing sector. Despite the ‘Make in India’ campaign being launched in 2014, critics argue that much of what is branded as Indian manufacturing is still heavily import-dependent, particularly in electronics and tech sectors.
While the government highlights rising foreign investment and growing assembly hubs, experts have often pointed out the lack of domestic component manufacturing and infrastructure bottlenecks.
