After decades of free trade evangelism, protectionism is back in earnest, led by the US and European Union, who're fearing a deluge of Chinese electric vehicles and battery imports. Should India also raise duties on Chinese EV imports? “We must exercise caution when applying anti-dumping duties due to their potential downstream impacts on Indian manufacturers," warned Rahul Ahluwalia, founding director at Foundation For Economic Development (FED), a not-for-profit organisation. “Imposing dumping duties could adversely affect Indian EV manufacturing startups. Therefore, we must be very careful in applying such measures to avoid hampering the growth of this emerging sector." Read the full story in Mint.

Starting 2020, India increased import duties on toys and implemented a quality control order (QCO), with the aim of giving a competitive advantage to domestic toy manufacturers. Has the strategy paid off? “QCOs and similar barriers increase uncertainty and inefficiency in the system. Industry becomes more hesitant to invest and produce," says Rahul Ahluwalia, co-Founder of Foundation for Economic Development (FED). “Besides, the protectionist policies also force toy buyers to pay more. Any product that is competitive in terms of quality does not need any kind of protection or boost from the government to make it export worthy. It happens automatically."