Can India become an economic superpower?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to transform India into a developed nation by 2047. The country continues to be the fastest-growing large economy and is poised to overtake Japan as the world's fourth-largest.
In a recent boost to Modi's government, India posted its best quarterly growth in a year. However, critics question whether that really translates into improved outcomes for all of India's people. They are calling for deeper reforms to boost the nation's competitiveness and to sustain that robust growth.
Also, will Latin America pick sides in the US-China trade war?
And, why is OPEC+ boosting output?
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Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Modi inaugurates strategic railway project in Indian-administered Kashmir
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened one of the country's most ambitious railway projects, which will connect the Kashmir Valley to the vast Indian plains by train for the first time. Dubbed by the government-operated Indian Railways as one of the most challenging tracks in the world, the 272-kilometre (169-mile) line begins in the garrison city of Udhampur in the Jammu region and runs through Indian-administered Kashmir's main city of Srinagar. The line ends in Baramulla, a town near the highly militarised Line of Control dividing the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan. The Indian government has pegged the total project cost at about $5bn. The railway line travels through 36 tunnels and over 943 bridges and will facilitate the movement of people and goods, as well as troops, that was previously possible only via treacherous mountain roads and by air. One of the project's highlights is a 1,315-metre-long (4,314-foot) steel and concrete bridge above the Chenab River connecting two mountains with an arch 359 metres (1,177 feet) above the water. Indian Railways has compared its height with the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which stands 330 metres (1,082 feet), and said the bridge is built to last 120 years and endure extreme weather, including wind speeds up to 260 km/h (161mph). Modi visited the Chenab bridge on Friday with tight security, waving an Indian tri-colour flag before boarding a test train that passed through picturesque mountains and tunnels to reach an inauguration ceremony for another high-elevation bridge named Anji. The railway 'ensures all weather connectivity' and will 'boost spiritual tourism and create livelihood opportunities', Modi said. The prime minister also helped launch a pair of new trains called 'Vande Bharat' that will halve the travel time between Srinagar and the town of Katra in the Jammu region to about three hours from the usual six to seven hours by road. Modi's visit to Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday is his first since a military conflict between India and Pakistan brought the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of war last month when the countries fired missiles and drones at each other. The conflict was triggered after a shooting attack in late April that left 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists, dead in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan for supporting the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied. India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Armed groups in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels' goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India insists the Kashmir armed groups are backed by Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies.
Al Jazeera
16 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Japanese firm declares lunar mission a failure after crash landing
A Japanese-made private lunar lander has crashed while attempting to touch down on the moon, with its makers officially declaring the mission a failure. Tokyo-based company ispace said on Friday that its lander, named Resilience, dropped out of lunar orbit as planned and that the mission appeared to be going well. But flight controllers lost contact with Resilience, which was carrying a mini rover, moments before its scheduled touchdown on the surface of the moon following an hourlong descent. Ground support was met with silence as they attempted to regain contact with the lander and after several hours declared the mission a failure. The company's livestream of the attempted landing then came to an abrupt end. 'We have to take seriously what happened,' ispace CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada said after the failed mission, as he apologised to everyone who contributed. This is the firm's second failed attempt to soft land on the lunar surface, coming two years after the Japanese start-up's first attempt to reach the moon ended in a crash landing. Launched in December 2022, the firm's Hakuto-R Mission 1 reached lunar orbit but crashed during its final descent after an error caused the lander to believe it was lower than it actually was. That mission's successor, Resilience, was launched in January from Florida on a long, roundabout journey. It shared a ride on a SpaceX rocket with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which, upon reaching the moon first in March this year, made the US firm the first private entity to make a 'fully successful' soft landing there. The 2.3-metre (7.5-foot) Resilience lander was targeting the top of the moon, where the ispace team had chosen a flat area with few boulders in Mare Frigoris, or Sea of Cold, to land. Resilience was expected to beam back pictures within hours of landing, before ispace's European-built rover – named Tenacious – would have been lowered onto the lunar surface this weekend. The rover, made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic and sporting a high-definition camera, would then have scouted out the area and scooped up lunar dirt for NASA. Resilience was also carrying a toy-sized red house created by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. Moonhouse, as the model Swedish-style cottage was called, was intended to be the moon's first 'building', in a nod to Hakamada's vision of humans living and working there as early as the 2040s. But ispace's now second failed landing has left the Japanese entrepreneur's vision in doubt. The aerospace company's next, much bigger lander is scheduled to launch by 2027 with NASA's involvement. Prior to Friday's failed mission, the Japanese firm's chief financial officer, Jumpei Nozaki, promised to continue its lunar quest regardless of the outcome. But Jeremy Fix, chief engineer for ispace's US subsidiary, said at a conference last month that the firm does not have 'infinite funds' and cannot afford repeated failures. Company officials said this latest failed mission cost less than the first one – which exceeded $100m – but declined to provide an exact figure.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Indonesia beat China to boost World Cup hopes in AFC qualifying
Indonesia have kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for only the second time in their history with a nervy 1-0 win that has ended opponents China's hopes of qualifying. Oli Romeny scored the only goal of Thursday's game from the penalty spot in the first half of the Asian Football Confederation qualifier in Jarkarta. The spot kick was awarded after Yang Zexiang brought down Ricky Kambuaya on the stroke of half-time. It dealt a blow to the Chinese, whose defence was mounting pressure on the hosts, given the expectations on them. In the first kickoff of the day in the group, Australia took a giant stride towards sealing another qualification spot by beating already qualified Japan 1-0. Aziz Behich scored the winner with a curling effort from the edge of the box in the 90th minute. Saudi Arabia hosted Bahrain in the final kickoff of the day in Group C. Anything other than a win for the home side would guarantee Australia's progress while Bahrain needed a win themselves to retain a chance of climbing above Indonesia into the final playoff spot. Kambuaya had Indonesia's first sighter, but the effort from range flew wide of the right-hand upright. Wang Yudong, making his international debut at 18, was the brightest spark in China's start and steered an effort wide after a counter off the back of mounting pressure from the hosts. Han Pengfei had China's best chance, though, when he flashed his header over the bar from Serginho's corner. Romeny had twice had near misses himself, one just wide and the other too close to the keeper, before slotting home the crucial kick from the spot. Indonesia travel to Japan for their final group game on Tuesday.
