Yes we can, but..

This.has.become.a.perpetual.story..Something.goes.wrong.somewhere.and.Indian.IT.users.have.to.bear.the.brunt.. There.is.a.factory.fire.or.a.tsunami.and.the.supplies.are.hit..Or.the.Indian.rupee.comes.down.against.the.dollar. and.the.equipment.becomes.too.expensive..There.is.a.Chinese.bug.sc are.in.all.c ommunications.equipment,. and.the.industry.literally.comes.to.a.standstill..Or.there.is.something.else..Once.it.was.the.Thailand.floods,.and. once.it.was.the.Japan.earthquake.and.subsequent.tsunami..And.as.Alok.Bharadwaj,.MAIT.president.very.aptly. put.it,.India.has.now.been.hit.by.the.dollar.tsunami..Indian.users.suffer.so.much,.just.because.the.equipment. is.not.manufactured.in.India.

Is.local.manufacturing.the.solution?.Maybe.yes,.but.the.challeng es.that.will.come.in.the.way.of.building. India.as.a.manufacturing.base.are.huge..Talk.to.the.industry,.and.you.will.realiYe.that.there.is.so.much.t o.be. done.before.anyone.will.take.us.seriously..There.are.a.host.of.government.policies.that.support.manufacturing,. including.bureaucracy-less.single.window.clearance,.that.must.be.first.put.in.place..The.infrastructure.required. for.manufacturing--power,.roads,.ports--is.almost.missing..There.has.to.be.a.huge.ecosystem.of.partners.and. suppliers,.which.will.need.to.be.simultaneously.built.up..All.this.will.take.time,.but.before.that.we.need.a.strong. government..Is.that.anywhere.in.sight?

The.other.big.question.is.if.the.local.market.will.accept.Made.in.India.products..Technology.decision.makers. in.Indian.companies.believe,.by.and.large,.that.stuff.made.in.India.is.not.entirely.reliable..And.that.the.kind.of. post-sales.support.that.foreign.companies.offer,.Indian.vendors.cannot..It.is.therefore.unlikely.that.the.products. manufactured.in.India,.even.by.MNCs.will.not.be.easily.accepted..And.if.it.is.an.Indian.vendor.with.a.Made.in. India.product,.the.resistance.will.be.even.higher..Unfortunately,.there.have.been.some.recent.examples.of.Indian. products.that.just.failed.on.reliability.and.quality,.that.only.goes.to.strengthen.their.argument.

This.is.the.mindset.that.will.have.to.be.broken..And.that.will.not.happen.by.just.talking..Indian.vendors.will. have.to.walk.the.talk--in.terms.of.price,.product.quality,.features,.and.support..Are.they.ready?

A.good.example.will.be.t o.study.the.Nokia.manuf acturing.plant.in.Chennai,.which.is.their.big gest.in.the . world..According.to.market.reports,.over.100.million.phones.ar e.produced.in.this.plan t.every.year,.by.ov er. 10,000.workers,.80%.of.whom.are.women..Out.of.this.production,.almost.50%.is.consumed.in.India,.and.the. rest.is.exported.to.about.100.countries..Can.both.the.industry.and.the.government.learn.from.this?.And.just. try.to.replicate.it?