'China deserves next bull market': Shankar Sharma blasts India Inc, says it has no ambition

Ace investor Shankar Sharma has criticised India's global corporate footprint in the wake of the United States' 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports, asserting, "No Indian company has built anything abroad of substance, nor do they aspire to." His comments came after Capitalmind CEO Deepak Shenoy suggested that India was never a serious alternative to China in global supply chains.

"Our bull market is only about protected domestic profits because of tariff and non-tariff barriers," Sharma wrote on X, adding, "All flat pitch bullies," in a jibe at Indian companies thriving in a protected domestic environment but lacking global ambition or presence. He compared this with China, stating, "That country (China) deserves a bull market which is long overdue."

The US has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods from August 27, raising the effective tariff on many categories to 50 per cent. The tariffs, introduced as a penalty for India's continued purchases of Russian crude and defence equipment, will affect over $48 billion worth of Indian exports to the US, severely impacting key sectors such as textiles, apparel, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather, animal products, chemicals, and electrical machinery.

According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), 66 per cent of India's exports-worth about $60.2 billion-will be subject to the full 50 per cent tariff. Another 3.8 per cent, largely auto components, will face a 25 per cent tariff. Labour-intensive and high-value-added segments are expected to be among the hardest hit.

Reacting to the tariffs, Shenoy had written, "We are relatively irrelevant in the trade world for large countries." He stressed that much of India's export output consists of commodities such as iron ore, steel, and t-shirts—products that global buyers can easily replace. "We were never China+1. Maybe China+0.05," Shenoy said, questioning the long-standing belief that India could step in as a substitute for China in global supply chains.

Shenoy called for a shift in strategy toward strengthening domestic production. "We can either dial up our exports or push for more domestic production. The first is useless, other countries can always arm twist," he wrote, proposing reforms in environmental regulations, labour laws, cost of capital, and exchange rate policy to encourage manufacturing growth. 

While he reaffirmed his bullish outlook for India's long-term future, Shenoy said the country must accept its current limitations. "We have to recognize where we are and move from there," he wrote. He also placed part of the responsibility on the domestic industry. "The blame lies with industry too. We are oligarchic, corrupt and reward all sorts of fraud in pvt sector as well."