EVENTS

The electronics industry, especially smartphones, has witnessed the biggest expansion of Chinese investments since 2014, in an adverse and competing geography like India. Among the top five best-selling smartphone brands at the end of 2023, four are Chinese, with a combined market share of 50 per cent. Over the years, the companies have scaled up their operations in India, widened their reach and have become easy points of reference for consumers. However, the violence in Galwan Valley in the summer of 2020 has had a significant impact on the companies. There is increased regulatory scrutiny over them, and the Indian government has sought to localise or ‘Indianise’ their operations and management. This is in addition to the jostling to take advantage of the ‘China Plus One’ diversification strategy of various multinational companies. This presentation will examine the expansion and operations of Chinese smartphone companies in India, over the last decade. It will then look at the different measures undertaken in the process of ‘Indianisation’, and the responses of the companies, to evaluate whether it is a credible counter-measure and whether India’s manufacturing ambitions can proceed by discounting Chinese investments. This presentation is based on the recent article published by the speaker in The Hindu newspaper, “With or without Chinese companies is the question,” a part of a longer paper on Chinese capital in India’s electronics industry.

About the Speaker

Anand P. Krishnan is a Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE), Delhi National Capital Region, and an Adjunct Fellow, at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi. He is also the Assistant Editor of the journal, China Report. He holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from the Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was a Non-Resident Fellow under the China-India Scholar Leaders Initiative, of the India China Institute, The New School, New York City, from 2018-21. In 2016-17, he was a Visiting Fellow, at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He has also worked as a Visiting Faculty at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. His research interests lie in industrial development in the global south, labour relations in China and India, supply chains, and state-society relations.

About the Chair

Ravi Bhoothalingam is an Emeritus Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London, and Founder and Chairman of Manas Advisory, which focuses on top management coaching, integrating psychological science with on-ground management experience. Under the mentorship of renowned scientist and sinologist Joseph Needham, Mr. Bhoothalingam received specialised training in psycholinguistics, scientific method, and Chinese culture. Mr. Bhoothalingam has served as the President of The Oberoi Group of Hotels, the Head of Personnel Worldwide with BAT plc, London, the Managing Director of VST Industries Ltd., Hyderabad, and the Director of ITC Ltd., Kolkata. He has served as an independent director on various corporate boards, as a member of the Court of Governors of the Administrative Staff College of India, and as a moderator for the Aspen Leadership Seminars in India, organised by the Aspen Institute, Colorado, USA. He also actively participates in the China Core Group of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and has written extensively about how the application of science and psychology can enhance understanding between India and China. His research interests lie in the Chinese economy, history, and Confucianism.

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