With Changed Market Conditions and Consumer Behavior in the National Economy, How Will the Indian Manufacturing Sector Shape Up in the Post-Corona World?

Kavan Shah, Aisha Tharaney

Demand, Depreciation, Gross Domestic Product, Manufacturing sector, Protectionism, Recession, Supply, Supply Chain.

The projected losses that may be borne by the Indian automobile sector in the coming months is nearly Rupees 15,000 crore, rubbing salt in the wounds of an already declining industry. The growth of the Information Technology (IT) and Electronics industry in India has been stunted by the panic and indecision in domestic and global markets, causing losses worth crores for even the biggest tech companies in the country. Manufacturing activity in India has collapsed - with a record-low Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of 27.4 in April 2020 and only slight improvements since then. It is an indisputable fact that the Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its growing spread across India is a massive threat to its manufacturing sector.

This research-based essay explores the key changes in the market conditions in the initial months of a ‘Post-corona’ India and produces solutions and proposals that we believe have the potential to push the manufacturing sector upward and result in national economic growth. Part I of the essay examines the changes in demand and supply patterns and their implications, with focus on the potentially the three most important industries in the Indian manufacturing sector: the automobile industry, the IT and electronics industry, and the pharmaceutical industry. Part II presents original solutions formulated using a variety of factors, conditions and changes in an array of fields and disciplines; microeconomic and macroeconomic factors, potential changes in social behaviour, diplomatic relations, political ideologies, and environmental factors have been analysed to present the proposals with relatively greater merit. All the inferences, predictions, and conclusions in the essay are based on present market conditions, expert opinions, past evidence, anecdotal evidence, and relevant socioeconomic theory.

https://doi.org/10.31871/IJNTR.7.2.11