Latest news with #ChintanResearchFoundation
India Today
6 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
How India-Middle East-Europe Corridor is gateway to India's global power status
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will be critical to India strategically and the country could be the "glue and anchor" for the key project, a top government official has Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made the remarks at a conference titled 'IMEC: Connecting Continents, Unlocking Opportunities', organised by the Chintan Research Foundation in Delhi on IMEC is a trans-continental connectivity project that envisions a multi-modal economic corridor involving multiple businesses, integrating railways, ports, highways, energy networks and digital infrastructure to enhance trade, investment and connectivity between India, Europe and the Arabian Peninsula. It was announced on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023. Highlighting the project's strategic importance, Ravi said, "From a strategic point of view, IMEC is critical to India. With its friendly relations and fast economic growth, India could be the glue and anchor for this key project."The conference brought together experts from governments, academia, industry and private businesses across the world to discuss various aspects of the IMEC: its potential, weaknesses and threats, and most importantly, ways to get this ambitious project GROWTHShishir Priyadarshi, the president of Chintan Research Foundation, called the IMEC a game-changer in India's push towards strong and rapid economic growth. He said a holistic approach with strong participation of private businesses would be essential to see this project acknowledging the challenges in executing a project of this scale, estimated to cost over USD 600 billion over a 10-year period, experts discussed that its potential benefits outweigh the costs and implemented in full, the IMEC promises to unlock new opportunities for multi-dimensional trade across regions that have traditionally been close trade partners, with the potential to facilitate faster and more efficient movement of goods, bypassing existing bottlenecks, reducing shipping delays, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting also aims to secure regional supply chains, improve trade accessibility and facilitate the economic prosperity of people and countries along the alignment of the project."The project should be seen as a balancer between a geopolitical project and an economic tool that has the potential to transform the global landscape," said Prasanna Karthik, Vice President, Strategy, Adani also called for the integrated development of ports, a key link in the success of INDEPENDENCEWith a target of becoming energy-independent by 2047 and achieving net zero emission target by 2070, India is increasing renewable energy use across all economic spheres, which is central to India's energy transition. Green hydrogen is considered a promising alternative for enabling this IMEC provides an opportunity for India to not only promote hydrogen as an alternative fuel and an effective long-term alternative to fossil fuels, but also export the fuel by incorporating clean hydrogen pipelines into the has already allocated USD 2.5 billion towards promoting the country's emergence as a green hydrogen hub. Several prominent Indian business groups, including the Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro Limited and ReNew Energy Global, are developing green hydrogen technology at a large scale.A SYMBOL OF GLOBAL POWERGeopolitically, IMEC is also being pitched as an expression of India's rise as a global power, both politically and economically, almost coinciding with it becoming the fourth-largest global economy. The project is also seen as a natural progression to bring Israel closer to the West Asian region after the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020 and the potential Saudi-Israel growing close ties between India and West Asia and India and Israel, coupled with the smart business opportunities that would be unlocked by direct connectivity to Europe, is another important contributory terms of trade between the European Union and India, IMEC is being seen as an economic game-changer and an opportunity to strengthen strategic partnerships. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during her recent visit to India in March, pitched IMEC as an important cornerstone for enhancing India-EU corridor is much more than just a railway or cable; it is a green and digital bridge across continents and civilisations," she had earlier figured prominently in the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during the former's visit to Washington DC in February. At that time, Trump called the key corridor one of the "greatest trade routes in all of history".Trump also called for an early summit of the eight signatories of IMEC to be held in India in September-October this year to kickstart work on the Watch
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
IMEC a catalyst towards vision of Viksit Bharat: Dammu Ravi
India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor ( IMEC ) is a trans-continental connectivity project, which promises to transform the lives of people across continents. Announced at the side-lines of the G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023, it is a bold vision to connect India with Europe across the Arabian Peninsula. It envisions a multi-modal economic corridor involving multiple businesses, integrating railways, ports, highways, energy networks, and digital infrastructure to enhance trade, investment, and connectivity across the continents. 'From a strategic point of view, IMEC is critical to India. With its friendly relations and fast economic growth , India can be the glue and anchor for this key project', said Dammu Ravi, Secretary Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs, Delhi, while delivering the keynote address. He complemented Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) for organising a conference on a subject which has huge implications to India's growth and its vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. The daylong conference brought together experts from the governments, academia, industry and private businesses across the globe to discuss the various aspects of IMEC, its potential and promises, its weaknesses and threats and most importantly ways and means to get this very ambitious project off the ground. Earlier, welcoming the delegates to the conference, Shishir Priyadarshi, President CRF called IMEC a game changer in India's push towards strong and rapid economic growth. A holistic approach with strong participation of private businesses would be essential to see this project through, he added. The conference was titled 'IMEC: Connecting Continents, Unlocking Opportunities' Live Events While acknowledging challenges in implementing a project of this scale which has an estimated cost outlay of over US $ 600 Billion over a 10 year period, most experts opined that the potential benefits of this project outweighs the costs and obstacles. When implemented in full, IMEC promises to unlock new opportunities of multi-dimensional trade across regions that have traditionally been close trade partners. It has the potential to facilitate faster and more efficient movement of goods, bypassing existing bottlenecks, reducing shipping delays, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting costs. It also aims to secure regional supply chains, improve trade accessibility and facilitate the economic prosperity of people and countries along the alignment of the project. IMEC should be seen as a balancer between a geopolitical project and an economic tool and has the potential to transform the global landscape said, Prasanna Karthik, Vice President, Strategy, Adani Group, while participating in the panel discussion. He was speaking on the need for integrated development of ports, a key link in the success of IMEC. With a target of becoming energy independent by 2047 and achieving Net Zero by 2070, India is increasing renewable energy use across all economic spheres is central to India's Energy Transition. Green Hydrogen is considered a promising alternative for enabling this transition. IMEC provides an opportunity for India to not only promote hydrogen as an alternative fuel and an effective long-term alternative to fossil fuels but also export the fuel by incorporating clean hydrogen pipelines into the corridor. India has already allocated US$2.5 billion towards promoting the country's emergence as a green hydrogen hub. Several prominent Indian business groups, including the Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro Limited, and ReNew Energy Global, are developing green hydrogen technology at a large scale. Geopolitically, IMEC is also being pitched as an expression of India's rise as a global power, both politically and economically, almost coinciding with it becoming the 4th largest global economy. Also, it is seen as a natural progression to bring Israel closer to the West Asian region after the signing of Abraham Accords in September 2020 and the potential Saudi-Israel normalization. The growing close ties between India and West Asia and India and Israel, coupled with the smart business opportunities that would get unlocked by a direct connectivity to Europe is another important contributory factor. In terms of trade between the EU and India, the IMEC is being seen as an economic game changer and an opportunity to strengthen strategic partnerships. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during her recent visit to India in March 2025, had pitched for the IMEC as an important cornerstone for enhancing India-EU trade. She was quoted stating that, 'This corridor is much more than just a railway or able, it is a green and digital bridge across continents and civilizations'. IMEC had earlier figured prominently in the talks between PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during Modi's visit to Washington in February this year with Trump calling it one of the "greatest trade routes in all of history." He had also called for an early summit of the eight signatories of IMEC, to be held in India in September-October this year, to kick start work on the project.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Middle East crisis could pose an obstacle to India-Middle East-Europe corridor: MEA official
The ongoing crisis in the Middle East could pose an obstacle to the completion of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was announced on the sidelines of the G20 summit hosted by India in 2023, according to a senior official in the Ministry of External Affairs. 'It's not like we have gone back to square one, but I think the crisis in the Middle East could become a problem or obstacle for the IMEC,' Dammu Ravi, Secretary, Economic Relations, in the Ministry of External Affairs said while speaking at a conference on IMEC hosted by the Chintan Research Foundation on Wednesday (June 4, 2025). IMEC is a proposed corridor spanning ship, ship-rail, and road networks to connect India to the Gulf region and the Gulf region to Europe. Mr. Ravi acknowledged that any mega project of this magnitude would face challenges, but added that the two main issues are going to be competition from other similar projects such as the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the homogenisation of systems across the partner countries. 'In my view, the biggest challenge that could come in the way, apart from geopolitical issues and conflicts, is harmonisation,' he said. 'The ability to harmonise across platforms, across countries, is important. Harmonisation in terms of regulatory standards, both your technical and phytosanitary regulations, your transportation networks, taxation systems. That will take work.' Mr. Ravi also called for the setting up of a Secretariat or headquarters for the IMEC, which could act as a coordinating mechanism, 'without which a very good idea will disappear in no time'. Speaking at the same conference, Vice Admiral Anil Chawla (Retd.), a Distinguished Fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research (CSDR) pointed out that the IMEC would reduce the transit time of cargo from Mumbai to Piraeus in Greece by around three days. However, he added that this is likely to be offset by customs clearances and regulatory processes at the transit points in Mumbai, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece. An increase in efficiency from IMEC, he said in a presentation, was not 'readily apparent'.'IMEC's advantage is that it would bypass the existing chokepoints of the Straits of Bab el Mandeb and the Suez Canal,' Mr. Chawla said. 'However, there is an increased risk of choke points over land as rail lines can be easily sabotaged by non-state actors in the region.'
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
India's 'Mahasagar' vision acquire special significance amid changing equations in sub-continent
The geopolitical equations in the Indian sub-continent have undergone a rapid change over the past month and India's maritime security priorities need special focus. As India's maritime vision evolves to 'MAHASAGAR' (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), the need to build on it has become all the more important in the context of the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, which has significantly changed the security context of the Indian Ocean Region . It has not only exposed the deep nexus between the Pakistani State (Military) and the terror network, but has also demonstrated India's firm resolve to fight against terror. In this context the Chintan Research Foundation organised a day-long conference on 'The MAHASAGAR INITIATIVE IN THE CURRENT SECURITY CONTEXT' in New Delhi on Friday. With panels comprising domain experts, the conference shed light on the intricacies related to maritime security, especially in the backdrop of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. In his keynote address, Admiral (retd) RK Dhowan, former Navy Chief emphasised on the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean, particularly in the context of the turbulence in neighbouring countries. He highlighted the rising threats in the region, including maritime terrorism , illegal and unregulated fishing, and other evolving non-traditional challenges that require multi-dimensional responses. Addressing the security outlook post recent India–Pakistan conflict, he said, 'Armed forces alone don't go to war — nations do. What we saw recently was a whole-of-nation response and India is fully prepared to defend itself if required.' He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategic vision, linking it to the MAHASAGAR Initiative. He particularly called out the need for a cleaner, safer maritime future, extending the spirit of Swachh Bharat to the oceans through what he termed as 'Swachh Sagar' — a cleaner sea for future generations. 'Garbage dumping has had a detrimental impact on Indian Ocean. Collective action is needed to combat ocean dumping, plastic waste, and pollution-induced global warming,' he added. In his welcome address, Shishir Priyadarshi, President, Chintan Research Foundation, highlighted the growing importance of the maritime sector in the future growth strategies of nations. 'We should focus on peace and stability in the Indian Ocean, because this is what will lead to economic and sustained growth. And that is what the 'G' in MAHASAGAR stands for - sustained and holistic growth, just as the 'R' stands for the region, reminding us of the shared responsibility we hold across the Indian Ocean and the Global South,' he said. With the objective of developing actionable recommendations for strengthening India's maritime strategies by engaging in dialogue and collaboration among policymakers, academics, and experts, the conference was able to successfully achieve its goal through engaging sessions and takeaways from both experts and audiences. From exploring India's evolving maritime strategy and leadership in the Global South to India's economic and strategic partnerships under MAHASAGAR, the sessions covered areas which have assumed immense strategic importance in the backdrop of sustained hostile environment in the Indian sub-continent. Though there is acceptance of India's leadership where India has effectively balanced its role as a 'net security provider' and 'first responder' along with its commitment to regional inclusivity, more strategic adjustments are needed, according to Dr Cchavi Vasisht, Associate Fellow, Chintan Research Foundation The panelists for the sessions comprised Amb. Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House; Swati Ganeshan, Visiting Fellow, Chintan Research Foundation; SK Tripathi, former R&AW Chief; Nitin Gokhale, Founder, StratNews Global; Dr. Shalini Chawla, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies; Col. Vivek Chadha, Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; Brig. Rahul Bhonsle, Director, Security Risks Asia; Prof. Chintamani Mahapatra, Founder and Honorary Chairman, Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies; Captain Sarabjeet S Parmar, Distinguished Fellow, Council for Strategic and Defence Research; Mr. Jayant Mishra, Member, Executive Council, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; Prof. A Subramanyam Raju, Centre for South Asian Studies, Pondicherry University; Dr. Pragya Pandey, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA); Prof. Gulshan Sachdeva, Centre for European Studies, JNU; Amb. Preeti Saran, Former Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs and Ruchita Beri, Senior Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF).
NDTV
05-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
India Does Not Have The "Luxury": Think Tank Contests World Bank Views On Growth
New Delhi: India does not need to follow the traditional approach to development that ties it with per capita income, new research has suggested. It can carry on simultaneous development on all fronts, that would get it to the developed country milestone within 20 years, by 2047, the research said. In its report titled "Innovating out of the Middle-Income Trap," the Chintan Research Foundation has suggested that a linear approach need not be followed by a country like India that has a young, strong and skilled work force. A nation can advance by simultaneously investing in solid infrastructure, judiciously infusing foreign expertise (with caution), and nurturing local innovation ecosystems nations can craft a balanced development pathway, the report has suggested. The accepted model of advancement comes from last year's World Development Report from the World Bank. The report, titled "The Middle-Income Trap", suggests that middle income nations follow a linear sequence. When a country is low-income, investment in infrastructure is required. Low-middle-income nations should begin "infusion" and only when it crosses the threshold of $14,000 per capita income, it can focus on "innovating" the received technology and exporting it globally. But India, the Chintan Research Foundation report said, is in a hurry to achieve developed country status - Viksit@47 - and "does not have the luxury to follow the sequential approach to development" as suggested in the World Development Report. Viksit Bharat is not a leap of faith but a calculated extension of measurable and maintainable trends. The report said the World Bank's cautionary stance on "leapfrogging" (jumping from investment to innovation without following infusion) negates the possibility of faster progress. It reinforces the traditional (view) 'others took 20 years to this path, so you should take the same amount of time too.' The CRF said its research shows that scientific production is in progress, Indian researchers match or outpace many upper-middle-income peers and talent is flowing toward discovery rather than away from it.
