'Vietnam grew 3x faster than India': Wealth advisor questions broken manufacturing model

India may be the world’s fastest-growing major economy in 2025—but when it comes to manufacturing, it’s still playing catch-up. Wealth advisor Manoj Arora points out a glaring gap: “Manufacturing in India is only 13% of GDP. This is half of the rate in Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan & China.”

While India is often positioned as an alternative to China in global supply chains, its manufacturing base tells a different story. Vietnam, for instance, has grown “three times faster than India,” Arora says, attributing India’s sluggishness to a range of deep-rooted issues.

“Indian manufacturing is heavily dependent on imports since there is a dearth of skilled staff,” he notes. The problem, according to him, begins at the source: “The education sector is unfit to teach skills needed by the employment market.” He adds that “courts, bureaucracy and corruption are hardly functioning and giving factory owners a headache.”

The numbers support the diagnosis. China’s goods exports stood at $3.58 trillion in 2024, compared to India’s $428 billion. Vietnam, despite its smaller size, reached $347 billion. In growth terms, Vietnam’s exports have jumped 983% since 2005, more than double India’s 339% growth.

Even with a projected 6.5% GDP growth rate in 2025, India’s economy remains one-fourth the size of China’s. India is expected to add $383 billion to its GDP this year, while China will add $1.26 trillion. And despite overtaking China in population, India has never achieved double-digit GDP growth in a single year—something China has done 15 times since 1980.

India’s government is investing in infrastructure, industrial corridors, and skilling programs to bridge the gap. But Arora’s warning is clear: without structural reform in education and governance, manufacturing will continue to lag behind global peers.