‘India Will Not Allow Chinese Companies To Participate In Highway Projects’: Gadkari

Gadkari also said the government will ensure that Chinese investors are not entertained in various sectors like Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

NEW DELHI| On Wednesday India will not allow Chinese companies to participate in highway projects, including those through a joint venture, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

Gadkari also said the government will ensure that Chinese investors are not entertained in various sectors like Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Gadkari while talking to PTI news agency said, “We will not give permission to joint ventures that have Chinese partners for road construction. We have taken a firm stand that if they (Chinese companies) come via a joint venture in our country, we will not allow it.”

The minister also said that a policy will be out soon banning Chinese firms and relaxing norms for Indian companies to expand their eligibility criteria for participation in highway projects.

The minister said while foreign investment and joint ventures in MSMEa will be encouraged, the Chinese shall not be entertained. He described the move as a step toward achieving PM Modi’s vision or a “self-reliant India” or Atmanirbhar Bharat.

In the backdrop of the ongoing border standoff with China, India on Monday banned 59 apps, mostly Chinese, citing threats to national security.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday also hailed the government’s move to ban Chinese mobile apps and described it as an opportunity for Indians to come up with apps of their own and put an end to the dependence on other nations for technology-related tools.

“In the wake of the ban which we have imposed…I think it is a great opportunity. Can we come up with good apps made by Indians? Let the dependence on foreign apps, with their own agenda for a variety of reasons, stop,” Prasad said.