In pics | Delhi's Nehru Place IT market ready to face challenges as they boycott Chinese goods

SUMMARY

Nehru Place is Asia’s biggest IT market which sells all range of hardware and software products and mostly imported from China.

By Anshu Sharma Jul 30, 2020 6:06:46 PM IST (Updated)

The computer hardware market in Delhi's Nehru Place is Asia’s biggest IT market which sells hardware, software and other products, is all set to face challenges as it looks to boycott products imported from China.

Although sales picked up after the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic was lifted, as more and more people started working from home and schools started online sessions, but they are not back to pre-COVID levels. The primary reason behind the less number of footfalls is the halt on metro services as lakhs of visitors used this mode of transport to reach the market.

However, traders are worried that sales may not be sustainable for over three months as most of them have not placed import orders from China in their attempt to support the Vocal for Local initiative. "We will have a black Diwali since there will be no products to offer by then,” said Mahinder Aggarwal, President of All Delhi Computer Traders Association.

Nehru Place also has a large textile market, which is often toured by brands like Zara, Maxmara, Promod among others for fabric. As the government is now working towards unlocking the economy, the chain of textile manufacturing to processing exports has been hit in trading hubs like Bhiwandi in Maharashtra and other states down south, which has delayed order placements.

Traders here said that clothing is the last thing on people's minds as hence the otherwise packed market is now virtually empty.

Even as sales have picked up to about 50 percent of pre-COVID levels at the Nehru Place textile market, traders are upbeat about future orders as they are getting inquiries from luxury brands for fabric, with more and more countries looking to shift their focus from China.

"India is getting a lot of attention for top-end fabric and artisan work. It is the mass market of fabric that needs attention now, which are mostly sourced in India from Bangladesh and Vietnam. It is time that the government and companies shift their focus on building infrastructure and jobs closer to states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from where most people come to metro cities to earn a living. We must focus on labour reforms because businesses cannot survive without them.” said Basi MP Singh, owner of HP Singh.

Moreover, big shops are offering innovative plans related to easy payments for large purchases amid the pandemic.