India must focus on manufacturing to compete with China: EAM Jaishankar

To compete with China on the economic front, India should focus on manufacturing, a key sector which was ignored by governments before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. Noting that tension at the border with China has caused "abnormality" in New Delhi-Beijing relations, he said India's thinking is absolutely clear that unless there is peace and stability in the border areas, the ties between the two Asian powers will not improve. "If we have to compete with China, which we should, then its solution is that we should focus on manufacturing here. Our approach towards manufacturing has changed after Modiji came to power. Before that, people did not give much emphasis on manufacturing," Jaishankar said during his interaction with industry leaders at a programme in Surat on Monday. There is no other way to counter China on the economic front, insisted the career diplomat-turned-politician while replying to questions from