A scheme would be rolled out soon to enable investors fleeing China to set up base in India, the government said on Thursday. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.

“During the meeting, the PM directed that the action should be taken for a more proactive approach to handhold investors, to look into their problems and help them in getting all the necessary central and state clearances in a time-bound manner,” the government said in a statement.

Many independent agencies have forecast that Indian economy may grow at less than 1% in FY21 from around 5% (advance estimate) in FY20.

Detailed discussions were held (in the meeting) on guiding states to evolve their strategies and be more proactive in attracting investments, the government said. “It was also discussed that the reform initiatives undertaken by the various ministries should continue unabated and action should be taken in a time-bound manner to remove any obstacles which impede promotion of investment and industrial growth,” the government said.

Reports suggest that US giants such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google are moving their manufacturing facilities from China to other potential countries, which offer cheap skilled workforce and low tax regime. Japan has also announced that it would spend over $2 billion to help its country’s firms move production from China.

Besides, Vietnam, which has emerged as a favourite destination for such firms relocating business, India and Thailand are also competing to attract these firms.

With more firms favouring Vietnam as the destination in recent years, the country has left India way behind when it comes to exports. After the Nokia factory in Tamil Nadu shut down, India’s exports fell from a peak of $4 billion, but in 2018, they recovered to $2.7 billion. In the case of Vietnam, however, exports have zoomed – from $2.3 billion in 2010 to $49 billion in 2018. And this superior performance isn’t restricted to just mobile phones.

While India’s exports of electronics ? leaving aside mobile phones ? have remained more or less flat at around $5 billion since the beginning of the decade, Vietnam’s exports rose nearly 10 times, from $3.6 billion in 2010 to $34.5 billion in 2018.