Lok Sabha Question No. 4224 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-19
Subject: Dependency on Chinese Products
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Adv Priya Saroj

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4224 ANSWERED ON 19/08/2025

## DEPENDENCY ON CHINESE PRODUCTS

## 4224.  ADV PRIYA SAROJ

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) the  total  value  of  imports  from  China  during  FY  2022-23  and  FY  2023-24,  and the   percentage of total imports it represents each year;
- (b) the top 10 product categories imported from China, with their respective share in India's total imports under those categories;
- (c) whether the Government has data on the share of Chinese imports in critical sectors like electronics, pharmaceuticals (APIs), auto components, and solar equipment, if so, the details thereof along with percentage wise data of top 10 categories.
- (d) whether any sector-wise dependency reduction plan has been formulated to reduce strategic reliance on Chinese - origin products, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the status of trade deficit with China over the past five years, and steps taken to promote Indian alternatives in both industrial and consumer segments?

## ANSWER

वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्यमंत्री ( श्री णिणिन प्रसाद )

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) The total value of imports from China during FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 was USD 98.50 Bn and USD 101.74 Bn respectively and percentage of these in India's total imports was 13.76% and 15% respectively.

(b) & (c) The top 10 principal commodities imported from China and their share in India's total imports during FY 2024-25 may be seen at Annexure-I.

(d) & (e) Most of the goods imported from China are raw materials, intermediate goods and capital goods like Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, auto components, electronic parts and assemblies, mobile phone parts, etc which are used for making finished products which are also  exported  out  of  India.  These  goods  are  imported  for  meeting  the  demand  of  fast expanding sectors like electronics, pharma, telecom and power in India.

The  Government  has  taken  several  initiatives  to  enhance  domestic  supply  and reduce dependency on imports. 'Make in India' initiative was launched in September, 2014 to promote India's manufacturing domain in the world. Presently, 'Make in India' 2.0 focuses on 27 sectors implemented across various Ministries/Departments and State Governments.

Keeping  in  view  India's  vision  of  becoming  'Atmanirbhar',  the  Government  has launched Production Linked Incentives (PLI) Schemes with financial outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore in 14 key sectors including Electronics, IT hardware, Pharmaceuticals, Bulk Drugs, High-  Efficiency  Solar  PV  Modules,  Automobiles  &  Auto  Components,  White  Goods, Telecom and Networking Products to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.

In the electronics sector, the Government has launched several schemes such as the  PLI  for  Large  Scale  Electronics  Manufacturing,  PLI  for  IT  hardware,  Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC and EMC 2.0) Scheme, and the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS). To further reduce import dependence  of components  and develop robust component  manufacturing ecosystem by attracting  investments  across  the  value  chain,  and  increase  the  share  of India's exports in global electronic trade by integrating with the Global Value Chains (GVCs), the Government has launched Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), with budgetary outlay of Rs. 22,919 crores.

In  the  Pharmaceutical  sector,  the  Government  has  launched  PLI  Scheme  for promotion  of  domestic  manufacturing  of  critical Key  Starting  Materials  (KSMs)/  Drug Intermediates (DIs)/Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in India, also known as the PLI Scheme for Bulk Drugs, with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 6,940 crores. The scheme aims to avoid disruption in supply of critical APIs, by reducing supply disruption risk due to excessive dependence on single source. PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals with budgetary outlay of Rs. 15,000 crores have also been launched to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities by  increasing  investment  and  production  in  the  sector  and  contributing  to  product diversification to high-value goods in the pharmaceutical sector. Further, under the Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drugs Parks, which has a total budgetary outlay of Rs. 3,000 crore, three parks have been approved and are at various stages of development in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

In the solar sector, the Government has been consistently bringing out policies to promote domestic manufacturing of solar equipment and reduce reliance on imports. The Government is implementing PLI scheme for High Efficiency Solar Photovoltaic Modules, with budgetary outlay of Rs. 24,000 crores, for achieving domestic manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt scale in High Efficiency Solar PV Modules. The Government is also giving preference to 'Make in India' in public procurements. Further, the Government has imposed Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on import of solar PV cells, solar PV modules, solar inverters and solar glass.

In the auto sector, the Government has notified PLI Scheme for Automobile and Auto Component Industry in India (PLI-Auto) with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 25,938 crores, for

enhancing India's manufacturing capabilities for Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) products.  The  objective  of  the  scheme  was  to  boost  domestic  manufacturing  of  AAT products and attract investments in the automotive manufacturing value chain.

In addition to above, Government has taken several initiatives   under the 'Ease of Doing  Business'  which  include  Business  Reform  Action  Plan  (BRAP),  the  B-Ready assessment, Trade Connect ePlatform and reducing compliance burden on businesses and citizens.

National  Logistics  Policy  and  PM  Gati  Shakti  have  been  launched  to  reduce  the logistics costs and improve the logistics efficiency in the country. PM Gati Shakti also helps in integrated development of multimodal infrastructure for ease of movement of people and goods. The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) is a transformative initiative   aimed to create globally competitive manufacturing hubs in India.

The Government encourages Indian business establishments to explore alternative suppliers and to diversify their supply chains to reduce dependency on single sources of supply.  Also, the Government monitors the surge in imports on a regular basis and takes appropriate  action.  Further,  the  Directorate  General  of  Trade  Remedies  (DGTR)  is empowered to initiate and recommend trade remedial actions against unfair trade practices.

The initiatives taken by the Government have led to decline in dependency on imports in several sectors. For example, under the PLI Scheme for medical devices, 21 projects have started manufacturing of 54 unique medical devices, which include high end devices such as Linear Accelerator (LINAC), MRI, CT-Scan, Heart Valve, Stent, Dialyzer Machine, C-Arm, Cath Lab, Mammograph, MRI Coils, etc.  Further, the PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing has significantly impacted Mobile manufacturing sector in India particularly in transforming India from a net importer to a net exporter of mobile phones. The export of mobile phones has increased from Rs. 1,500 cr in 2014-15 to more than Rs. 2 lakh cr in 2024-25. Bharat is now the second largest mobile manufacturing country in the world. In addition, the pharmaceuticals sector has witnessed cumulative sales of Rs.2.66 lakh crore which includes exports of Rs.1.70 lakh crore achieved in the first three years of the scheme. The scheme has contributed to India becoming a net exporter of bulk drugs (2280 cr.) from net importer (-1930 cr.) as was the case in FY 2021-22. It has also resulted in significant reduction in gap between the domestic manufacturing capacity and demand of critical drugs.

Trade deficit with China over the past five years can be accessed from website of Department of Commerce i.e.:

https://tradestat.commerce.gov.in/ftspcc/ttrade\_country\_wise

*****

Annexure-I

## Annexure-I referred to in reply to Part (b)&(c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4224 for answer on 19/08/2025

Top 10 Principal Commodity Groups imported from China in FY 2024-25 and their share in India's total imports:

(Values in USD Mn)

|   Sr. No. | PRINCIPAL COMMODITY GROUPS             |   India's total imports (2024-25) |   Imports from China (2024-25) |   China's share in India's total imports (%) |
|-----------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
|         1 | ELECTRONICS COMPONENTS                 |                          36804.9  |                       13964.6  |                                        37.94 |
|         2 | TELECOM INSTRUMENTS                    |                          22338.5  |                        9695.53 |                                        43.4  |
|         3 | COMPUTER HARDWARE, PERIPHERALS         |                          18541.1  |                        9170.88 |                                        49.46 |
|         4 | INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY FOR DAIRY ETC     |                          18479.8  |                        8360.05 |                                        45.24 |
|         5 | ORGANIC CHEMICALS                      |                          16307.3  |                        4827.66 |                                        29.6  |
|         6 | ELECTRONICS INSTRUMENTS                |                          12115.8  |                        4632.28 |                                        38.23 |
|         7 | ELECTRIC MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT       |                          13309.2  |                        4007.66 |                                        30.11 |
|         8 | PLASTIC RAW MATERIALS                  |                          16447.9  |                        3738.89 |                                        22.73 |
|         9 | BULK DRUGS, DRUG INTERMEDIATES         |                           4637.53 |                        3436.68 |                                        74.11 |
|        10 | RESIDUAL CHEMICALS AND ALLIED PRODUCTS |                          12587.4  |                        3296.93 |                                        26.19 |

During FY 2024-25, the value of India's total imports of Auto components/parts was USD 7174.73 Mn and value of India's imports from China in this category was USD 1912.82 Mn. China's share in total imports of auto components/parts was 26.66%.

(Source: DGCIS)