FDI from China better for local mfg boost: Virmani

Niti Aayog member says rather than to keep importing goods

Niti Aayog member Arvind Virmani on Sunday said it is better for India to get Chinese firms to invest and produce goods here to boost local manufacturing than to keep importing goods from the neighbouring country.

Virmani was responding to a pitch made by the pre-budget Economic Survey on July 22 for seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to boost local manufacturing and tap the export market.

"So, there is a trade-off the way an economist looks at it...So, the trade-off is that if there are going to be some imports, which we are anyway going to import for 10 years, 15 years from China, then it is better to get Chinese firms to invest in India and produce the same goods here," he told PTI in an interview.

As the US and Europe are shifting their immediate sourcing away from China, it is more effective to have Chinese companies invest in India and export the products to these markets rather than importing from the neighbouring country, according to the Economic Survey.