An alternative manufacturing and investment hub? 8 attractive location for global companies was that it was also a huge consumer for its nal products. 54 This is something that India may not be in a position to offer at this stage. None of this is to say that the Indian economy cannot bounce back and ful l its potential to become an alternative production unit and market to China. The demographic factors still remain favourable with India poised to take over from China as the world’s most populous country by 2030. It also remains the only country that can produce at the same scale as China. A number of big, global corporations such as Apple and Google have also declared their intentions of expanding their presence in the country despite the current economic situation. India has also taken steps to encourage the manufacturing sector and FDI in ows, including labour reforms to increase exibility in the labour markets, improve working conditions and simplify the labour registration process. It is also seeking to pool together land twice the size of Luxembourg across the country to reduce land acquisition barriers for potential manufacturers and investors. 55 A number of state governments have also been pushing for fast-track clearance, tax incentives, and developing industrial townships and parks. 56 For new manufacturing companies, the corporate tax rate has been slashed by 15 percent, and a production-linked incentive scheme has also been introduced for 10 sectors this year where companies will be rewarded based on their sales. India has also been systematically relaxing its FDI rules and opening up more economic sectors to foreign investments. All these are important steps but are only a start in the right direction. India will have to pick up the pace of its economic reforms, improve its regulatory framework, and upgrade. India and the Geopolitics of COVID-19