People wait at an ATM counter to withdraw money during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Kochi, India, March 30. (Str/Xinhua)

The recovery shown in China's economic figures for March amid the COVID-19 outbreak is sending a positive signal to Indian manufacturers that depend on Chinese imports, since the economic development of the South Asian country, which is in a 21-day lockdown, will be under heavy pressure, experts and business representatives said on Wednesday. 

India's economic fallout from the virus won't have an obvious effect on global industrial chains, but it's likely to harm the performance of multinational companies that aim to expand in the market, as well as India's IT services exports, they said. 

The pandemic has disrupted the entire world's ecosystem and everyone is affected, said Mansoor Nadeem Lari, CEO of the India-based Silk Route Trade and Industry Development Corp.

India's lockdown has created problems for every sector, especially small businesses and daily wage earners, Lari told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Indian start-ups will sustain a big shock from the epidemic, those in the services industry in particular, as India's economy heavily depends on services instead of manufacturing, Mahendra Swarup, managing director of the India-based Venture Gurukool Capability Fund, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The number of global COVID-19 confirmed cases had exceeded 860,000 as of press time and there were about 1,600 confirmed cases in India, according to Johns Hopkins University.

It is hard to say whether the epidemic would be contained after the lockdown in India since the country is expected to improve its prevention and control measures, but if the situation does worsen, the nation's economic growth will take a large hit, Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

India's economic fallout would not have an obvious effect on the world industrial chain as the country is not a major manufacturing power, experts noted. 

However, many multinational companies that aim to participate in the Indian market would be heavily affected. For instance, China's smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Huawei, South Korea's auto manufacturers like Hyundai and Japan's electronics makers such as Panasonic will likely have gloomy business prospects in India due to plunging demand caused by the epidemic, Zhao said.

India has become a global leader in exports of information and communication technology services, but the worldwide spread of the virus has dampened global demand for these services, Zhao said.

"The virus will hit India's IT sector due to declining demand from our clients in the US and Europe, but after these countries recover, India's IT services would revive as we have seen that the sector plays a vital role driving the high-technology industry during the process of combating the virus," Swarup said.

India accounts for two-thirds of the global software outsourcing services each year, media reports said. Its IT services and business process market is expected to grow 6.8 percent this year to $14.2 billion, according to an IDC report.

The Indian economy will be hit very hard, but the silver lining is that there looks to be some recovery shown in the Chinese March economic figures, Lari said. 

"India imports pharmaceutical raw materials as well as electronic components from China, so a Chinese manufacturing recovery is a good sign for Indian manufacturers who depend on Chinese imports."

China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index for March bounced back to 52 after it plunged to a record low of 35.7 in February as the virus rattled the country's businesses and production. "Since we see China is gradually recovering, we expect more Chinese investment in India to drive local business in the future," Swarup said.