Business / India won't allow Chinese companies in road projects: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: India will not allow Chinese companies to participate in highway projects, including those through joint ventures, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

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

“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 joint venture in our country, we will not allow it,” Gadkari told news agency PTI.

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 MSMEs will be encouraged, the Chinese shall not be entertained. He described the move as a step toward achieving PM Modi’s vision of 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 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.