Indian industries seek a limit on imports from China and a string of other measures to give local manufacturers a chance against a tidal wave of cheap Chinese imports.

Industry players also pushed for a policy on import substitution, the fixing of an inverted duty structure and cuts to costs of capital during a state-sponsored 'Make in India' workshop on Monday.

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They are asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to raise duties within limits of the World Trade Organization to help shield local manufacturers from cheap Chinese imports, especially heavy industry, power equipment, and capital goods, reports said.

India has a wide $36 billion trade deficit with imports at $51 billion and exports at $15 billion. Equipment and machinery made up a quarter of Chinese imports last year at around $5 billion.

While India's bound tariff rate averaged about 48.6%, the mean customs duty is around 14%.

Indian firms such as Larsen & Toubro also told the government to raise domestic content requirement standards to give local manufacturers a competitive edge, but this has been a major point of contention between India and the US.

The US sought WTO intervention earlier this year over the requirement for local content in the construction of the National Solar Mission, crying discrimination against US manufacturers of solar cells and modules.

Participants also took up targets for import substitution and targets for the power equipment sector.

An industry participant said the New Delhi officials came across as being very accommodating in relation to an inverted pay structure and the protection of the domestic market.

A senior government leader said DIPP has come up with a list of items where the inverted structure based on duty needed to be fixed and the finance minister will mostly likely take it up.