India and China are restoring economic links strained by a deadly 2020 border clash, the latest sign Prime Minister Narendra Modi is drawing closer to the BRICS countries after US President Donald Trump hit the South Asian nation with a 50% tariff.

A stock market index of Indian IT firms, the Nifty IT Index (.NIFTYIT), has fallen by more than a fifth this year while the benchmark NSE Nifty (.NSEI) has been flat as weaker global demand and a shift towards AI pressures the industry.

Unless New Delhi can strike a deal with Washington, crucial sectors could be decimated, jeopardising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” push to turn the country into a manufacturing supply chain alternative to China.