The government informed Lok Sabha today why Chinese goods are cheaper than Indian ones

Highlights The centre says Chinese items cost less due to opaque subsidy regime

Survival of small and medium enterprises depends on a number of factors

Credit, technology and infrastructure are some key elements in pricing

Chinese products are cheaper than Indian goods because of the opaque subsidy regime prevailing in China, the government said today in Parliament."The products manufactured in China are reportedly of lower price mainly because of their opaque subsidy regime and distorted factor prices," Minister of State for MSME, Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.He was replying to a question which sought to know the reasons behind the higher prices of domestic products in comparison to the products manufactured in China.

The minister said that the survival and growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) depends on a number of factors like availability of timely credit, upgradation of technology, infrastructure, access to market, quality of products, etc."Competition from internal and external sources including competition from multinational companies is also one of the factors," Mr Chaudhary said in a reply to another question on whether Indian MSMEs are reportedly lagging behind due to availability of the products of multinational companies.