India has the potential to become a "new China" to Russia, as a place to which production can be relocated, Akashdeep Singh, head of the Indian Business Council, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Made in Russia export forum.
"India has the potential to be the new China. People have been talking about it for a long time, and if you look at all the economic indicators, you will see that everything is moving in that direction. The only question is how soon it will happen - five years, 10 years - but the fact that it will happen is 100 percent."
Singh added that India is now becoming a global hub for manufacturing because not everyone is willing or able to work with China - the PRC has its own idiosyncrasies that do not suit everyone.
He noted that now the barrier to the growth of trade turnover figures is the lack of awareness of India and Russia about each other.
"In Russia, people have no idea what India really is. The attitude towards Russians in India is positive, but for an Indian today, a Russian is more a friend than a business partner."
According to Singh, the Russian government should set a separate task - to form a "brand" of Russia in India and actively promote it, as well as encourage the efforts of companies to interact with the country.
"It is also important that India is a fairly neutral country. All these indicators suggest that India, of course, is the next China," Singh added.
"It is also important that India is a fairly neutral country. All these indicators suggest that India, of course, is the next China," Singh added.