How China Owns Your Diwali: The Festival That Fuels a Foreign Economy

 

Every October, India lights up like no other country on earth.
Streets sparkle, markets buzz, and homes gleam under strings of LEDs. It’s the season when the country feels alive.

But behind the glow, there’s a quiet irony most of us miss a huge part of that brightness comes from China.

From the fairy lights on your balcony to the tiny Ganesh idol on your table, about 70% of what you buy this Diwali is made in China.
And every purchase, every decoration, every shimmering bulb it all sends money flowing out of India and straight into Chinese factories.

Your festival of light, in short, has become China’s festival of profit.

The ₹1.2-Lakh-Crore Celebration

Diwali isn’t just a festival; it’s an economic wave.

Every year, Indians spend roughly ₹1.2 lakh crore on sweets, gifts, lights, clothes, and decorations.
That’s larger than the GDP of some small nations. But here’s the thing — a large slice of that festive money doesn’t circulate here. It crosses borders.

Imported LEDs, plastic idols, and flashy electronic décor have quietly replaced the local craft economy that once powered Diwali bazaars.

Category	China’s Market Share in India	Import Value (2024)
Decorative LEDs & Lights	70–75 %	₹7,100 crore
Festive Décor & Signage	93 %	₹2,400 crore
Lamps & Light Fittings	—	₹3,000 crore
Total (Lighting + Décor)	—	₹13,000 crore ≈ USD 853 million

That’s ₹13,000 crore leaving India every festive season enough to run the health budget of an entire Indian state for a year.

The Trade Deficit Nobody Talks About

This isn’t just a Diwali story. It’s part of a bigger economic pattern.

In FY 25, India imported goods worth USD 113.5 billion (≈ ₹9.45 lakh crore) from China.
We exported only USD 14.25 billion (≈ ₹1.19 lakh crore) in return.

That’s a trade deficit of USD 99 billion (₹8.25 lakh crore)  the largest India has ever recorded with any single country.
To put it simply:

For every ₹100 we trade with China, ₹87 flows out.

FY	Imports from China	Exports to China	Deficit
FY 20	USD 65 B	USD 16 B	USD 49 B
FY 23	USD 101 B	USD 15 B	USD 86 B
FY 25	USD 113.5 B	USD 14.25 B	USD 99 B

And each year, Diwali adds its small but glowing contribution to that imbalance.

How Festive Spending Became a Chinese Revenue Stream

In 2024, India imported USD 853 million (₹7,000 crore) worth of decorative items, signage, and lighting products from China.

That included ₹3,000 crore worth of lamps and light fittings alone.
Almost 93 % of all “festive or decorative articles” imported into India that year came from China.

That means almost everything twinkling in your home this week began its life in a Chinese factory.

Product Type	Imports from China (2024)	China’s Share
Lamps & Light Fittings	₹3,000 crore	85 %
Festive Décor & Signage	₹2,400 crore	93 %
LEDs & Bulbs	₹1,700 crore	70 %
Total	₹7,100 crore	≈ 90 %

For China, Diwali isn’t a festival it’s a quarterly revenue bump.

The Five-Year Surge We Pretended Not to See

In 2017, India imported USD 61 billion worth of goods from China.
Then came the 2020 border clashes, and #BoycottChinese trended everywhere.

You’d think that would change things.

But it didn’t.

By 2022, imports had jumped to USD 94.5 billion — up 63 % since 2017.
By FY 24, China made up 15 % of all Indian imports, the highest in our history.

Year	Imports from China (USD Billion)	Change YoY
2017	61	—
2020	58	↓ 5 % (Boycott calls)
2022	94.5	↑ 63 %
2024	101	↑ 7 %
2025	113.5	↑ 12 %

The hashtags faded. The shipments didn’t.

Why India Can’t Just “Make It Here” Yet

The obvious question why not just produce these things ourselves?

The answer is brutal economics.

Chinese factories can make the same decorative light for about ₹80, while in India it costs around ₹180–₹200.

That’s because Chinese producers enjoy scale, automation, integrated supply chains, and subsidised power.
India’s small manufacturers still rely on manual labour and fragmented logistics.

Item	Cost in China	Cost in India	Difference
LED String Light	₹80	₹180	+125 %
Resin Idol	₹150	₹280	+87 %
Plastic Lantern	₹100	₹190	+90 %

So when local manufacturers try to compete, they bleed.
Eventually, they stop producing and the import cycle deepens.

It’s not that India lacks talent; we lack systems efficient logistics, cheap power, and credit for small businesses.

The Local Fallout That Never Makes Headlines

Travel to Ayodhya, Jaipur, or Madurai in the weeks before Diwali, and you’ll hear the same story again and again.

Artisans who once made a living from clay diyas and handmade décor now sit idle.
Plastic and LEDs have replaced the earth and oil that once defined the festival.

Their incomes have fallen by half in a decade.

Craft Sector	Avg Income (2015)	Now (2024)	Drop
Clay Diyas	₹15,000 / month	₹7,000	−53 %
Small Idols	₹18,000	₹9,500	−47 %
Handicrafts & Décor	₹20,000	₹10,000	−50 %

Every cheap bulb we buy replaces a family’s livelihood somewhere in rural India.
It’s not just economic — it’s cultural erosion.

These artisans don’t just make products; they make traditions tangible.

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The Hidden Cost of Cheap Imports

We often tell ourselves “It’s cheaper, what’s the harm?”

Here’s the harm.

Every imported shipment widens our trade deficit, weakens the rupee, and eats into foreign-exchange reserves.
When local factories shut, we lose not just jobs but tax revenue and manufacturing capacity.

Impact Area	Effect of Rising Imports
Trade Balance	Higher deficit (USD 99 B FY 25)
Employment	Loss of MSME & artisan jobs
Currency	Rupee under pressure
Fiscal Health	Lower manufacturing tax base

Short-term gain, long-term drain.

The “Made in India” Mirage

Many products that look proudly Indian are, in truth, partly Chinese.

Those “Made in India” fairy lights? Often just assembled here.
The bulbs, chips, wiring all imported.

Stage	Actual Origin
LED Chip	China
Wiring & Controller	China
Plastic Casing	China
Assembly & Packaging	India

We’ve changed the sticker, not the supply chain.

What If We Kept the Money Home?

Now imagine this:
If even half of Diwali’s imported goods were made domestically, India could save over ₹20,000 crore every year.

That’s enough to:

• Support 50,000 MSMEs
• Create 10 lakh manufacturing jobs
• Or fund 200 small industrial clusters across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

“Make in India” isn’t just patriotic — it’s profitable.

Scenario	Annual Impact
50 % Import Substitution	₹20,000 crore saved
MSMEs Funded	~50,000
Jobs Created	~10 lakh
Clusters Possible	200+

Lighting the Way Forward

The answer isn’t boycotting or blaming.
It’s building.

China’s manufacturing dominance didn’t appear overnight. It took three decades of policy consistency, low-cost power, and relentless focus.

India can do the same  but it needs coordination between government, industry, and consumers.

• Policy support for small manufacturers
• Incentives for domestic electronics and décor production
• Consumer awareness about spending choices

And at a personal level, it means buying local whenever you can.

Because every rupee you spend locally lights up not just your home, but someone else’s livelihood too.

The Bottom Line

When you switch on your Diwali lights this year, take a second look.
The glow might be from China but the power to change that lies with you.

If even a fraction of India’s festive spending stayed home, we could build factories, revive crafts, and create jobs all while keeping the spirit of Diwali intact.

The question isn’t “Can India make its own lights?”
It’s “Will we choose to?”

Because the truth is simple: Diwali should brighten India’s homes, not China’s economy.

Quick Snapshot: The Numbers Behind the Glow

Metric	Value (2024–25)
Total Diwali Spending	₹1.2 lakh crore
Imports from China (Festive Goods)	₹13,000 crore
India–China Trade Deficit	USD 99 billion (₹8.25 lakh crore)
Share of Chinese Décor in Market	70–93 %
Artisan Income Drop	50–60 %
Potential Savings (if 50 % localised)	₹20,000 crore