Oops, Wrong Hyundai. India’s Industrial Policy Misfires — Again
New Delhi’s blunder is just one of several failings that undermine confidence in Modi’s push to galvanize private investment.
What’s the bigger folly?
Photographer: Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images
In March, India announced a list of battery makers that would receive a coveted state subsidy. Locally manufactured cells for electric vehicles would trigger almost $6 billion in investments, build a supply chain at home, cut $30 billion in energy imports and be a “major boost” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India project, the government said.
There was only one problem with the $2.2 billion handout: Among the four winners selected from what its press release described as an “overwhelming response” by investors, New Delhi had picked the wrong Hyundai.