[Global Times Special Correspondent Bai Yuan] The British "Financial Times" reported on the 19th that Indian steel industry billionaire Sajan Jindal, who is recently preparing to launch an electric vehicle brand, said that India is promoting the development of manufacturing industries due to "tight" R & D funds. The technology needed has to rely on China.

Kimdar said his company, the JSW Group, is in talks with several Chinese car manufacturers, hoping to introduce Chinese technology to India and prepare for the launch of electric vehicles in June next year. In an interview with the Financial Times, he said: ¡°This technology is also introduced in Europe. Compared to European car companies, China has made huge progress, so we have no choice.¡±

Jindal, on the other hand, did not forget to mention "risk". He said that after the conflict broke out on the Sino-Indian border in 2020, the Indian government strengthened its review of Chinese investment, refused to issue most visas, and prevented cooperation between Chinese companies and Indian companies. Relations between the two countries have improved at present, but the Financial Times mentioned that India still has concerns about China's technology and investment. According to the report, Indian Prime Minister Modi has been committed to promoting the development of domestic manufacturing industry, focusing on electric vehicles and smartphones. His government has provided corporate tax incentives and consumer subsidies for the industry.

However, Kimdar believes that the real problem is that Indian companies do not invest in R&D. India¡¯s R&D spending accounts for only 0.66% of its GDP, while the Chinese and U.S. governments, with 2.4% and 3.5% respectively, are working to encourage domestic industrial development, but the budget is very tight.¡±

The JSW Group has long focused on port, energy and defense business, and owns India¡¯s largest steel company, starting to enter the electric vehicle sector in 2023.

According to the Financial Times, batteries are the biggest obstacle to India's development of electric vehicles, with India mainly importing batteries from China, Japan and Korea, according to the Global Mobile Data forecast, even by 2030, domestic production in India can only meet 13% of the demand.