Mobility paves Samsung’s silver path
The Korean giant’s early bet on mobile phones helped it hit the $10-bn mark in India, but in its 25th year it ...
The BRI, which now touches 68 countries, is not without merits - iStockphoto
The Indian tradition of deifying guests is captured in the three famous words from Taittriya Upanishad: “athithi devo bhava”, meaning, “be the one for whom guest is God”. With such a tradition, can India let President Xi Jinping return home empty handed?
Here is a suggestion for a good gift to the visiting dignitary: an announcement that India will join a programme that is close to his heart — the Belt and Road Initiative. Truly, the BRI to India is a coin with same face on both sides. Staying away from it serves India no purpose, but joining in is pretty useful.
Why shouldn’t India join the BRI? There are only two responses to this from the Indian side. One, a part of it runs through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir; and two, most of the BRI projects lack transparency in funding. Both, obviously, are fair points.
However, there is little that India can do about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor road passing through PoK. China has only ignored India’s objections with undisguised disdain. This is perhaps more than an assertion of might — China probably needs that road, as it is an easier route from the Middle East to its western provinces of Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai and Gansu.
A more pragmatic way of approaching the issue is to offer China an alternative (or additional) route — say, Kandla to Kashgar. Or, just extend the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor to Kashgar. Economically, a route via India would obviously enjoy higher traffic and hence be more worthwhile. You don’t like a China road going through PoK? Sweet revenge would be to make the road empty by letting Chinese goods through India. Strategically, such a transport corridor through India would weaken Pakistan’s bargaining position with China. As it is, several CPEC projects have a cloud hanging over them, the Pakistanis having realised that CPEC is no river of milk and honey, but rather a millstone around the neck. As Pakistani journalist Adnan Aamir wrote in chinausfocus.com, the country’s rapprochement with the US is seen as a shift away from the CPEC and China, understandably, is none too happy about this. What better timing available for India to step into the BRI?
That brings us to another objection of India — the lack of transparency or even China-skewed funding. Sri Lanka’s experience in almost having lost sovereignty over the Chinese-built port of Humbantota — a ghost port today — weighing fresh on the Indian mind, the suspicion over Chinese accounts book is well-founded. But then, nobody prevents India from being a smart negotiator. Why should India beam over a Japanese-funded Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project but reject a Chinese proposal to build a hi-speed rail between Kolkata and Kunming?
While declining China’s invitation to participate in the first BRI summit in Beijing in May 2017, India had noted that “connectivity initiatives must follow principles of financial responsibility to avoid projects that would create unsustainable debt burden for communities.” Fair enough, but what prevents India from ensuring such principles (at least) when it comes to Indian projects?
The BRI, which now touches 68 countries, is not without merits. In a recent report, the World Bank has observed that trade could grow between 2.8-9.7 per cent for these “corridor economies”. There are also some examples of highly successful projects — such as the Greek port of Piraeus and the Khorgos-Almaty road improvement project.
Thus, strategically or economically, India joining the BRI makes eminent sense. To decapitate a rival, hug him tight. Let athithi Xi return home happy.
The Korean giant’s early bet on mobile phones helped it hit the $10-bn mark in India, but in its 25th year it ...
Antrix should adopt a different tactic than merely fighting over jurisdiction: Experts
Invest in relationships, enterprise, behaviour, effort and learning
From different types of osmoses to new membranes, researchers have come up with ways of drawing water
Only half the Sensex stocks have bettered the index’s return in the last 10,000-point journey
High valuation and stiff competition from larger players are a dampener
Investors with a short-term perspective can buy The New India Assurance Company (NIACL) stock at current ...
₹1490 • HDFC Bank S1S2R1R2COMMENT 1475146015051520 Fresh short positions are recommended with a stiff ...
What makes the new crop of young Indian cricketers such game-changing winners? Over and above their talent, ...
In these isolated times when people yearn for a slice of the familiar, amateur and professional chefs are ...
‘You ready to go to work?’ Joe Biden had asked Kamala Harris before naming her as his running mate. ‘Oh my ...
Writer Narendra’s latest book, rich with vignettes from Bastar and his native village in Uttar Pradesh, ...
Digital is becoming dominant media, but are companies and their ad agencies transforming fast enough to make a ...
Slow Network, promoted by journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra, pushes rural products and experiences
How marketers can use the traditional exchange of festive wishes meaningfully
For Fortune, a brand celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was a rude shock to become the butt of social media ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor