Gujarat Model: 35% stainless steel MSMEs shut down due to Chinese imports
PM Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat houses 80 per cent of the stainless steel MSMEs in the country, of which 35 per cent shut their doors in the second quarter of the current financial year (July-September 2023) owing to huge imports from China.
Rajamani Krishnamurti, President, Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) revealed this in an interview to the financial news website Moneycontrol.
The competitive advantage of less expensive Chinese imports is squeezing the profit margins of domestic stainless steel manufacturers, prompting the industry to lodge a petition last year requesting the government to levy countervailing duty (CVD) on Chinese stainless steel products. The 2021 Union budget did away with the CVD on steel imports.
Subsequently, many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have downscaled operations, while some have transitioned into trading roles.
Among the 80 induction furnace companies in Ahmedabad, 20 have halted their operations, while over 100 re-rollers, involved in crafting various items such as utensils, have shut down owing to the impact of cheaper imports.
While Narendra Modi continues his hollow tirades against China, the fact remains that India chose to keep its doors wide open for cheap Chinese imports at the cost of indigenous industries which employ tens of thousands of Indians.
The condition of the industrial sector in the state which the BJP sold of as its aspirational model to Indians before the 2014 general elections in highly appalling as this may not be the end where Indian industries will shut shop owing to Chinese pressures and imports at a time when Mr. Modi tries to project himself and the country as ‘Vishwaguru’.
