Indian civil honor given to Hon Hai’s Young Liu

• By Gurjit Singh

India celebrated its 75th Republic Day on Friday, an anniversary that marks India’s transition from a dominion of Britain to a full republic in 1950 after attaining independence on Aug. 15, 1947.

On Republic Day, India confers civilian honors on select people for public service. It conferred its third-highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan, to Foxconn chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉). Last year in a meeting, Young told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Taiwan would be among India’s most trusted partners.

In its congratulatory message to the chairman and CEO of Hon Hai Technology Group, known internationally as Foxconn, the India Taipei Association said the Padma Bhushan award in the field of trade and industry is a testament to Foxconn’s success in India. Foxconn is critical to India’s emergence as an electronics manufacturing hub and as a part of growing electronics supply chains.

Liu is the first Taiwanese to receive the award, and it symbolizes India’s pursuit of a semiconductor supply chain in which Liu’s vision and Foxconn’s participation are critical. The award recognizes Liu for his efforts in enhancing development and industrial growth, and validates India’s economic engagement with Taiwan, provided that it understands India’s needs and engages in good faith.

India’s Padma awards started in 1954. Annually announced on Republic Day, they are awarded at a special investiture by the Indian president each spring. The Padma Bhushan signifies distinguished service and among the awarded categories is the field of trade and industry.

French President Emmanuel Macron was the chief guest at the 75th Republic Day and the list of foreign awards recipients includes many French people, but the highest award conferred on a foreigner went to Liu. Other earlier foreign award recipients include former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers, Danish engineer Henning Holck-Larsen of the major Indian engineering firm Larsen and Toubro, Indian-American former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and Suzuki Motor Corp chairman emeritus Osamu Suzuki.

The expansion of the India-Taiwan economic partnership, with enhanced trade, more foreign direct investment and business delegations, has been catalyzed by Foxconn’s engagement undertaken by Liu.

Taipei-based Indian commentator Sana Hashmi wrote on X that through its 30 factories employing 40,000 people in India, Foxconn’s turnover of US$10 billion was just less than 5 percent of its global revenue in 2022. Foxconn has well utilized Indian incentives through India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to attract investments in key sectors and cutting-edge technology, and exponentially increased Indian exports. Foxconn might be the best example of a company utilizing the PLI.

India’s view after Taiwan’s elections this year is that it would continue its India policy of the past eight years, and that the Democratic Progressive Party government would boost relations with India. With its semiconductor prowess, Taiwan holds the potential to create manufacturing supply chains in India. Bilateral trade grew from US$1.19 billion in 2001 to US$8.45 billion in 2022. There are more than 250 Taiwanese companies in India. They invested a combined US$4 billion in the country. Taiwanese companies de-risking from China could benefit India through more foreign direct investment.

This award is not a sign of disrespect toward Beijing. It recognizes Liu and his contribution, and shows that India is not hesitant to acknowledge the importance of economic partnership with Taiwanese companies.

Gurjit Singh is a former Indian ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, ASEAN, Ethiopia and the African Union.