#4 Sectors in Which India is Surging Ahead of China While China has wowed the world with its bullet trains, India is pacing ahead in its space mission, launching valuable communication satellites
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
China and India are the two fastest growing Asian economies. Respective governments have left no stones unturned to project the two nations as ideal investment destination on global platform, inviting industrialists with the lure of a business-friendly atmosphere.
The two countries have always been at loggerheads for political reasons, making their bilateral relationship really rocky.
The leaders at the helm of power of these two neighbours are known for their reformative approach and the similarities between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President XI Jinping are conspicuous.
Both of them are known to rub shoulders with ten-figure friends to draw investments.
While China has wowed the world with its bullet trains, India is pacing ahead in its space mission, launching valuable communication satellites.
Here's a list of four fronts in which India is ahead of China in terms of growth:
One of the Best in Managing Financial Sector
Though the two nations introduced separate sets of reforms at different points of time, China started moving towards the pro-market economy in 1978 and India did the same in 1991.
But India is 15 years ahead of China with regard to reforms in economic and financial markets.
Experts are of the opinion that India has performed better than China in the financial sector.
Indian bond market is known as one of the most liquid in Asia, which is well regulated by the RBI and is fully electronic. India is known as one of the best countries in the world in the way the financial sector is managed. As far as equity markets are concerned, reporting standards in India maintain global standards.
Neck-and-neck Competition in Space Missions
Though China is doing really good in space missions, India is not much behind with its successive launching of communication satellites. Recently, India has sent its heaviest communication satellite with its own GSLV MK III. India reportedly aims to win a bigger share of the $300-billion global space industry.
It has successfully launched record 104 satellites, earning praise even from its northern neighbor.
China started its space missions in the late 1950s while India entered the space in 1962 and is racing fast.
One of the Biggest Strengths -- Pharmaceutical Production and Exports
India regards pharmaceutical production and exports as one of its biggest strengths. It has consistently beaten China in exports of pharmaceutical products to Latin America in the past five years. In 2016, India exported products worth $651 million to Latin America, as compared to China's $404 million-worth exports, stated the IBEF report. Fortunately, India has never suffered regulation bottlenecks in the sector, ensuring the ease of doing business for Indian manufacturers and vendors.
What makes our country's growth in this sector more interesting is the fact that it imports the bulk of its raw materials from China. This sector is not really the focus area of Beijing. A June 2016 study by Assocham predicted that India's pharma exports could reach $20 billion by 2020.
Expected Boom in Retail Sales
India has surpassed China to secure the top position among 30 developing countries on the ease of doing business in the Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), stated its 2017 report.
In the 16th edition of GRDI, India's rapidly expanding economy, easing of foreign direct investment rules and a consumption boom are stated as the key factors pushing it to the top position in the GRDI.
China is ahead of India when it comes to the graph showing net retail sales figures. India ranks third after China and Brazil according to the FDI Confidence Index 2016. But the report on ease of doing business by GRDI promises a higher growth figure for the country by 2020.