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News18
4 days ago
- Business
- News18
PM Modi's Strategic Push For Energy And Resources: Key Deals In Ghana, Trinidad, And Namibia
With MoUs inked in Ghana and strategic talks lined up in Trinidad and Namibia, India is pursuing long-term energy and resource partnerships Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a five-country visit. His first stop was Ghana, where he signed major agreements. Some key deals to watch include LNG contracts from Trinidad and Tobago, uranium and critical mineral deals from Namibia, and positioning Indian fintech and services to enter West Africa through Ghana. The tour will then move to Argentina and Brazil, but more on that later. The Ghana leg of the trip has already concluded, and the Prime Minister is now en route to Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. Each nation, before landing on the Latin American mainland, holds significant importance. Prime Minister Modi's visit to Ghana, the first by an Indian premier in over three decades, represents a calculated move to establish a strategic beachhead in West Africa. The agreements inked in Accra are foundational, aiming to position India not merely as a trading partner but as an indispensable force in the region's digital and developmental future. Ghana is being cultivated as a crucial launchpad for Indian commercial and technological influence into the wider Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The immediate deliverables are clear. Four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering culture, standards, traditional medicine, and a Joint Commission lay the institutional groundwork for deeper engagement. More significantly, however, is the stated ambition to double bilateral trade from its current level of approximately USD 3 billion within five years. At the heart of this push is India's readiness to share its UPI technology. It represents the vanguard of India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) diplomacy, which has been offered to Ghana — a powerful tool to embed Indian systems into the core of emerging economies and create long-term dependencies and partnerships. Beyond the immediate trade and tech push, the visit laid the groundwork for deeper strategic cooperation. Discussions on establishing a vaccine manufacturing hub, with support from Indian entrepreneurs, signal an intent to make Ghana a centre for regional health security, backed by India's formidable pharmaceutical capacity. Similarly, commitments to cooperate in the exploration of critical minerals and enhance defence ties underscore a comprehensive strategy. India is positioning itself as a provider of capital, technology, and security — a holistic partnership designed to supplant other global players and solidify its role as a leading partner for the Global South. Trinidad And Tobago: Securing Long-Term Energy As India's economy expands, energy demand becomes increasingly acute, rendering its security intrinsically linked to stable, diversified sources. The visit to Trinidad and Tobago must be viewed through this lens of strategic necessity. While current bilateral trade is a modest USD 341 million, the true objective transcends this figure. As a significant producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a stable democracy in the Americas, Trinidad and Tobago represents a vital opportunity for India to de-risk its energy portfolio. The primary strategic prize on the table is a long-term LNG supply agreement. Securing such a contract would provide a reliable energy corridor, reducing India's over-exposure to supply chains from more geopolitically volatile regions. For a nation that imports the vast majority of its energy, locking in supplies from a partner located far from traditional flashpoints is a critical component of national security. The talks on energy cooperation are therefore not routine diplomatic dialogue; they are central to fuelling India's continued economic ascent. Profound soft power advantages buttress this hard-nosed strategic pursuit. The visit, coinciding with the 180th anniversary of the arrival of Indian indentured labourers, carries immense symbolic weight as well. The island nation's population is 40–45 per cent of Indian origin, with its President and Prime Minister both proudly acknowledging their Indian heritage. There is a deep, historical connection that provides a foundation of trust and cultural affinity, facilitating complex commercial negotiations. Namibia: A Critical Minerals And Uranium Nexus The final leg of this initial tour, Namibia, is arguably the most critical from a resource security perspective. The agenda here is direct and unambiguous: securing access to the building blocks of both the nuclear and green energy revolutions. With bilateral trade of USD 650 million already driven by diamonds, the aim is to move beyond existing commerce into a strategic partnership that will power India's industrial and technological future for decades to come. The primary focus is on uranium. As a major global producer, Namibia is a natural partner for India's civilian nuclear energy programme. Efforts to finalise a long-term uranium supply agreement are paramount. This would provide the fuel needed to expand India's nuclear power generation — a key pillar of its strategy to meet climate goals while ensuring baseload energy stability. Securing this supply is a non-negotiable requirement for India's long-term energy planning. Equally important is Namibia's untapped potential in critical minerals. The country holds significant reserves of cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements — essential inputs for batteries, electric vehicles, and high-technology manufacturing. Gaining preferential access to these resources is central to the success of India's 'Make in India' initiative and its ambition to become a global manufacturing hub in new-age industries. Furthermore, the push to establish direct sourcing routes for Namibian diamonds would disrupt the traditional trade flows through Antwerp and London, capturing significantly more value for India's world-leading diamond processing industry. The parallel agreement to expand UPI in Namibia demonstrates a multi-pronged approach — using digital integration to cement a strategic resource partnership that is vital for India's future. About the Author Sohil Sinha Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. 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India Gazette
08-07-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
India-Brazil partnership important pillar of
Brasilia [Brazil], July 9 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India-Brazil partnership stands as an important pillar of 'stability and balance' and emphasised that the cooperation between the two countries is relevant not only for the Global South but for the entire world. He emphasised that the two nations shared a common approach to fighting terrorism - 'zero tolerance and zero double standards. ' 'Today, as the world goes through a period of tension and uncertainty, my friend has already elaborated on this in detail so I will not repeat it. India-Brazil partnership stands as an important pillar of stability and balance. We are in full agreement that all disputes must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. We share a common approach in the fight against terrorism -- zero tolerance and zero double standards. We firmly believe that there is no place for double standards when it comes to terrorism. We strongly oppose both terrorism and those who support it,' he said. During a joint press statement with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after their delegation-level talks, PM Modi emphasised that the cooperation between India and Brazil is relevant not only for the Global South but for the entire humanity. 'India and Brazil have always worked in close coordination at the global level. As two large democratic countries, our cooperation is relevant not only for the Global South, but for the entire humanity. We believe that it is our moral obligation to raise the concerns and priorities of the Global South at global forums,' he said. The Prime Minister said that the growing cooperation between India and Brazil in the defence sector reflects deep mutual trust between the two nations. He noted that the cooperation between the two nations is growing constantly in the energy sector. 'Our growing cooperation in the field of defence reflects the deep mutual trust between our two countries. We will continue our efforts to connect our defence industries and strengthen this partnership further. Our collaboration in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and supercomputers is expanding. This reflects our shared vision for inclusive development and human-centric innovation,' he added. During the joint press statement with Brazil's President Lula, PM Modi stated, 'Our cooperation in the field of energy is constantly growing. Environment and clean energy are the main priorities of both countries. The agreement that has been made today to increase cooperation in this field will give new direction and momentum to our green goals. I wish President Lula all the best for the COP-30 meeting to be held in Brazil this year.' He announced that both nations are working together on the adoption of UPI in Brazil. 'Both sides are also working together on the adoption of UPI in Brazil. We will be happy to share India's successful experience in areas like Digital Public Infrastructure and Space with Brazil.' He thanked the Brazilian President for the warm welcome accorded to him in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. He expressed gratitude to President Lula, the Brazilian government and the people for honouring him with the country's highest national honour. 'I want to thank my friend, President Lula, for the warm welcome accorded to us in Rio and Brasilia. Both the natural beauty of the Amazon and your warmth have mesmerised us. Today, the President honoured me with Brazil's highest national honour, which is a moment of immense pride and emotion not just for me but also for 140 crore Indians. For this, I express my heartfelt gratitude to him, the Brazilian government and the people of Brazil,' he added. He lauded President Lula for his role in deepening ties between India and Brazil, calling him the 'chief architect of the strategic partnership' between the two nations. He said, 'My friend President Lula is the Chief Architect of the Strategic Partnership between India and Brazil. He has played a significant role in deepening our relations. Every meeting with him has inspired me to work harder for the progress and well-being of both our nations. I dedicate this honour to his strong commitment to India and to our enduring friendship.' 'In today's discussions, we agreed to strengthen cooperation across all sectors. We have set a goal to raise bilateral trade to 20 billion dollars over the next five years. Football is Brazil's passion, just as cricket is loved by the people of India. Whether it's sending the ball past the boundary or into the goal, when both are on the same team, a 20 billion dollar partnership is not difficult to achieve. Together, we will also work on expanding the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA),' he added. He stated that the cooperation between India and Brazil in agriculture and animal husbandry is decades old, and the two nations will also work together on agricultural research and food processing. He further stated, 'We are also expanding our win-win cooperation in the field of health. We emphasised the expansion of Ayurveda and traditional medicine in Brazil.' Calling people-to-people ties an important pillar of India-Brazil ties, he said, 'People-to-people ties are an important pillar of our relations. A deep interest in sports connects the two countries together. We want India-Brazil relations to be as colourful as a carnival, as energetic as a game of football and connecting hearts like Samba, without long lines at visa counters. In this spirit, we will make efforts to facilitate contact between the people of the two countries, especially tourists, students, sportspersons and businessmen.' PM Modi held discussions with the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the Alvorada Palace in Brazil. President Lula conferred Brazil's highest civilian honour, the 'Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross', on PM Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a State Visit to Brazil after participating in the BRICS Summit, received a warm ceremonial welcome at the Alvorada Palace in Brazil on Tuesday, where President Lula shared a warm hug with PM Modi. (ANI)
Coin Geek
26-06-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
Digital ID revolution: Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, PNG make strides
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Digital identity is no longer a buzzword; it's the foundation of the rapidly growing digital economy. Most governments are spending millions of dollars to implement new initiatives that provide their citizens with digital IDs, with the latest being Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and Guinea-Bissau. Papua New Guinea unveils new DPI draft policy Papua New Guinea's government has unveiled a draft policy that outlines its roadmap for a digital public infrastructure to 'revolutionize service accessibility, trust, and digital engagement.' Known as the Draft Digital ID Policy, it was developed to align with the island nation's Vision 2050 and to comply with the Digital Government Act 2022. Source: Steven Matainaho ICT Minister Timothy Masiu first announced the draft policy in December 2024 to unify digital identity for PNG's 10.8 million citizens. He stated that the aim was to boost the country's digital economy and enable every citizen to participate while also addressing inefficiencies in public service delivery. Drafting of the policy has now been completed, and according to Steve Matanaiho, who heads the country's Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), it's designed to promote inclusion, interoperability, and privacy. On inclusion, the policy advocates for multilingual support to guarantee no citizen is locked out. PNG is one of the world's most linguistically diverse countries, with over 800 languages spoken; this makes it home to over 10% of the world's languages despite only accounting for 0.13% of the global population. The new ID will be built around SevisPass, an initiative to digitize existing physical IDs linked to 'a digital ecosystem of public and private services.' Launched in October, SevisPass is stored on the SevisWallet. PNG partnered with the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the International Telecommunications Union on the initiative. The digital ID will be rolled out in a phased implementation over the next 18 months, with completion aimed for December next year. Guinea-Bissau to digitize IDs, birth registrations Elsewhere, Guinea-Bissau aims to digitally overhaul its national ID and birth registration system in an initiative supported by the UNDP and UNICEF. Three months ago, the West African nation launched the Integrated System of Citizen Registers and Statistics (SIREC), a new system to digitally record new births and IDs and to digitize existing records. According to Raul Gomes, who heads the country's civil registration at the Ministry of Justice, Guinea-Bissau intends to integrate the birth registration system with other vital services like health and education. 'The government and its partners are making significant efforts to move civil registration services to the most remote areas to register children. In health facilities as well, we are training health technicians so that they can carry out birth registration themselves,' Gomes told one outlet. He added that nearly half of all children below the age of five are registered. Guinea-Bissau is home to 2.25 million residents, with just under 300,000 estimated to be below five. Unlike most of its peers in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau already has a biometric ID card system, which it first launched in 2006. In 2014, it upgraded the system to meet regional standards set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), becoming the second state to issue the new digital IDs after Senegal. The ongoing initiative is expanding this existing system to meet the latest standards and to encompass a wider range of services. Besides the UN, it's supported by the Swiss government. Gomes acknowledged challenges impeding faster rollout, including limited funding and low internet penetration. However, he believes that the West African country is on the right track with support from its bilateral partners. Limited funding is not unique to Guinea-Bissau. In neighboring Liberia, thousands of residents in the northern county of Nimba have swarmed the only digital ID enrolment center in the region. The country, whose economy is among the smallest in the region, has failed to allocate the funding to establish new centers, blaming it on a cash crunch. Watch: Digital identity is a core part of Web3—here's why title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
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Business Standard
22-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
RBI, banks to launch DPIP platform to combat rising digital payment frauds
In a bid to rein in the increasing incidence of digital payment frauds, major public and private sector banks have been roped to develop Digital Payment Intelligence Platform (DPIP) as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) under the supervision and guidance of the RBI. The proposed platform seeks to bolster fraud risk management by facilitating real-time intelligence sharing and gathering, thereby preventing fraudulent digital transactions, sources said. According to sources, the institutional structure of the proposed entity would be created with the help of both public sector and private sector lenders as fraud is a common monster. Earlier this month, a high-level meeting in this regard was convened to finalise the structure of the platform where senior bank officials, RBI officials and other stakeholders were present. Since the issue is one of the top agenda for both the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources said the platform should become operational in the next few months. Once operational, DPIP will collect and analyse data from various sources to identify potential threats and prevent fraudulent activities. By enabling real-time data sharing, the platform will help prevent scams and ensure secure transactions. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) has been assigned for building a prototype of DPIP in consultation with 5-10 banks. It is going to leverage advanced technologies to curb payment-related frauds. RBI, in June last year, formed a committee, chaired by A P Hota, former MD & CEO of NPCI, to examine various aspects of establishing this digital public infrastructure. According to the latest annual report of the RBI, there has been a significant surge in bank frauds, with the amount involved rising nearly three times to Rs 36,014 crore in FY25, compared to Rs 12,230 crore in the previous year. Of this, as much as Rs 25,667 crore worth of frauds were reported by public sector banks as against Rs 9,254 crore a year ago. Frauds have occurred predominantly in the category of digital payments (card/internet) in terms of the number and primarily in the loan portfolio (advances) in terms of value, it said. While card/internet frauds contributed maximum to the number of frauds reported by private sector banks, frauds in public sector banks were mainly in advances, it said.
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RBI-led initiative to curb digital frauds gains momentum, banks roped in to set up DPIP
In a bid to rein in the increasing incidence of digital payment frauds , major public and private sector banks have been roped to develop Digital Payment Intelligence Platform (DPIP) as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) under the supervision and guidance of the RBI . The proposed platform seeks to bolster fraud risk management by facilitating real-time intelligence sharing and gathering, thereby preventing fraudulent digital transactions, sources said. According to sources, the institutional structure of the proposed entity would be created with the help of both public sector and private sector lenders as fraud is a common monster. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Earlier this month, a high-level meeting in this regard was convened to finalise the structure of the platform where senior bank officials, RBI officials and other stakeholders were present. Since the issue is one of the top agenda for both the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources said the platform should become operational in the next few months. Live Events Once operational, DPIP will collect and analyse data from various sources to identify potential threats and prevent fraudulent activities. By enabling real-time data sharing, the platform will help prevent scams and ensure secure transactions. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) has been assigned for building a prototype of DPIP in consultation with 5-10 banks. It is going to leverage advanced technologies to curb payment-related frauds. RBI, in June last year, formed a committee, chaired by A P Hota, former MD & CEO of NPCI , to examine various aspects of establishing this digital public infrastructure. According to the latest annual report of the RBI, there has been a significant surge in bank frauds, with the amount involved rising nearly three times to Rs 36,014 crore in FY25, compared to Rs 12,230 crore in the previous year. Of this, as much as Rs 25,667 crore worth of frauds were reported by public sector banks as against Rs 9,254 crore a year ago. Frauds have occurred predominantly in the category of digital payments (card/internet) in terms of the number and primarily in the loan portfolio (advances) in terms of value, it said. While card/internet frauds contributed maximum to the number of frauds reported by private sector banks, frauds in public sector banks were mainly in advances, it said.
