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Policy, Protectionism and Pressure: Inside India’s Construction Equipment Downturn

India’s construction equipment sector faces a tough battle as it takes on cheaper imports from China and a slowdown in government infrastructure spending.

By Shahkar Abidi

09 Feb 2026

10074 Views

Policy, Protectionism and Pressure: Inside India’s Construction Equipment Downturn

Something clandestine unfolded at Mumbai's busy Indira Dock in the intervening night of October 31 and November 1. Customs inspectors, on a routine check, spotted three Chinese wheel loaders in an open yard, imported by an Indian firm. Each carried a QR code declaring a payload of 7,000 kilograms, the upper limit for triggering safeguard duties on such machines from China.

By the next day, the codes had vanished. In their place: markings for 7,100 kilograms, just enough to dodge the tariffs. Wheel loaders, with their front-mounted buckets on lift arms, are workhorses for construction sites and mines. Investigating ...

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