India’s China+1 lessons lie within its own States
The article argues that India's success in attracting global manufacturing under the China+1 strategy depends on the industrial ecosystems of individual states rather than national policy alone. It highlights Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as prime examples of regions that have cultivated long-term infrastructure and skilled labor.
Why it matters
It provides a critical perspective on India's economic development, suggesting that state-level governance and historical industrial planning are more decisive than federal incentives.
“Don’t look at India — look at what’s happening with specific States,” a veteran investor told these writers in one of 50 interviews with senior industry executives, policymakers and experts for a 2026 study at the East Asian Institute on how global firms are reworking their China+1 plans.
However, the national conversation tends to run the other way. Every few months, someone advises India to study Vietnam’s industrial parks, Mexico’s nearshoring or Poland’s supply chains. Meanwhile, two instructive case studies sit right at home — in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Global firms do not choose “India” as a homogenous monolithic edifice. They choose a State, and with it, the land, power supply, approvals, workers and suppliers.
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