Global Value Chains and the Missing Links ― Cases from Indian Industry

Global value chains (GVCs) are fraught with the phenomenon of fragmentation and dispersion of production across the world. India presents a unique example with its high potential in manufacturing capability but low integration in GVCs. This book examines the reasons why India has failed to integrate within GVCs so far and looks at key examples to understand the impediments in this process. The chapters bring together case studies from across the manufacturing industry – labour-intensive (garment, paper and diamond), capital-intensive (automobile and petrochemical), and knowledge-intensive (semi-conductor microchip, chemical and pharmaceutical) sectors. Together, they present stories of successful integration of some firms in GVCs as well as the difficulties faced by them. The volume also highlights the importance of GVCs in the context of developing countries in terms of benefits such as income and value generation, knowledge and technology collaborations, and advances in systems and processes.

This book will interest scholars and researchers in economics, international trade studies, development economics and business management as well as to practitioners, policymakers, government officials, and those in the corporate sector.

Saon Ray is Senior Fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India. An economist specializing in industry and international trade issues, her areas of interest include global value chains, technological upgrading of Indian industries, free trade agreements, and trade creation effects. She has published widely on these issues in books and journal articles. Her recent book is Impact of American Investment in India: A Socioeconomic Assessment (2014).

Smita Miglani is Research Associate at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India. She has an MPhil in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and her areas of research interest include international trade and investment, WTO (GATS) and energy economics. Her work has been published in various reports, working papers, books and journals. Her research has contributed to India’s negotiating strategies in signing bilateral trade and investment agreements and other policy reform issues at the domestic level.