In response to Prime Minister Modi’s call for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, over 150 firms in Morbi, Gujarat, have come together to create local products that have been imported from China so far. This province is a hub for ceramic tiles and the famous Ajanta clocks, and is now aspiring to conquer China’s toy market. The electronic and clock manufacturers in the town are in talks with firms that source parts or finished products from China for the Indian market.
The manufacturers also believe that more than 25000 skilled laborers will be given employment because of this and that with the necessary infrastructure, they would be equipped enough to replace the Chinese market.
The MD of the world’s largest wall-clock maker- Ajanta-Oreva Group, Jaysukh Patel, said that due to the decrease in demands since the Covid-19 outbreak, Morbi has been operating at barely 20% capacity. He added that they will be engaging with toy and gift articles makers and also consumer durable firms such as Hitachi, Samsung, and LG for new business. He also affirmed that the replacements will be cost-efficient, and of better quality.
Morbi is a primary industrial hub in Gujarat and over 80% of India’s vitrified ceramic tiles come from this place. China is the biggest exporter of ceramic products in Asia to Europe, the United States, and other Western countries. Now that other world countries are at loggerheads with China, it is believed that they will now look to Indian tile manufacturers for their imports.