This refers to “Making self-reliance work for India” by Naushad Forbes (June 18). While the author has hit all the right chords in defining a path for self-reliance for India from a commercial and administrative angle, what is undeniable is Chinese supremacy in science and technology. The fact is China has become sufficiently advanced to be able to efficiently compete with the US and the eurozone nations. Apart from dismantling tariff protection in a calibrated manner, our goal towards achieving self-reliance must take into account the need for developing cutting-edge technology which alone can usher in competition and economy in production. Look at the dependence of the entire world on developed by Huawei. The so called “cheap” products shipped by China is a result of the coordinated effort by its state-sponsored production mechanism duly supported by the private sector. Unfortunately, we continue to label our private sector as unreliable and refuse to collaborate. If we have to make our mark in competitive production, this dichotomy must end and we should link our publicly funded-research facilities with the enterprising capabilities of the private sector.
Ganga Narayan Rath Hyderabad
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