Daily News - Thursday, 16 January 2025
‘India and Gulf nations can bridge US-China divide’ (mint)
The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025 highlights India’s pivotal role as a “bridge” in a fragmented global order amid intensifying US-China geoeconomic rivalry, while warning of risks to its trade routes and energy security from geopolitical instability. Misinformation and disinformation remain top short-term risks, eroding trust in governance and cooperation, alongside environmental challenges like extreme weather, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse dominating long-term concerns. For India, water shortages, erosion of civic freedoms, pollution, and labour gaps are among the top risks, while trade vulnerabilities, driven by industrial policies and non-tariff barriers, place the nation among the top five countries most affected by restrictive US trade measures.
Green investments to rise 5x to ₹31 tn until 2030: Crisil (mint)
India is projected to witness a five-fold surge in green investments to ₹31 trillion between 2025 and 2030, a critical step toward achieving ~$10 trillion in total investments required by 2070 to meet its net-zero targets, according to Crisil’s India Infrastructure Conclave 2025. Key commitments under India’s Nationally Determined Contribution include reducing carbon intensity by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving 50% of installed power capacity from non-fossil-fuel sources, with ₹19 trillion earmarked for renewable energy and storage, ₹4.1 trillion for transport and automotive, and ₹3.3 trillion for oil and gas sectors. Accelerating grants, blended financing, and supportive policies are deemed essential to balance India’s growing energy demands with its environmental aspirations, as highlighted by Crisil’s managing director, Amish Mehta.
India Known as 1st Responder to Global South During Natural Disasters: Goyal (The Economic Times)
India, as the first responder to the Global South, has played a pivotal role in disaster management, particularly in flood prevention and control, and extended significant humanitarian aid, including free Covid-19 vaccines to over 100 countries under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted at the World Congress on Disaster Management. He emphasized the need for improved awareness and faster resolution of disaster relief insurance claims, advocating for streamlined processes to avoid court interventions. Accurate assessments and factual analysis, Goyal noted, are crucial for expediting claims and ensuring relief reaches deserving beneficiaries efficiently.
India to play key role in global security: PM (Financial Express)
In a historic first, India commissioned three frontline naval vessels—the destroyer INS Surat, frigate INS Nilgiri, and submarine INS Vagsheer—marking a significant leap in the Indian Navy’s self-reliance and maritime strength, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the ceremony in Mumbai. Highlighting India’s rich maritime heritage and vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), Modi emphasized India’s commitment to an open, secure, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, while rejecting expansionism in favour of development-focused policies. He underscored India’s evolving role as a global maritime power and a reliable partner for the Global South, asserting that the new platforms will bolster India’s security, economic influence, and geopolitical impact.
Indigenous ‘bullet train’ projects may run into financing hurdles (Financial Express)
India’s push for expanding high-speed rail (HSR) services faces financing challenges, with seven proposed corridors—such as Delhi-Varanasi and Mumbai-Nagpur—requiring multilateral lending due to limited railway operational surpluses and higher borrowing costs compared to the JICA-funded Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project. While MAHSR relies on affordable Japanese Shinkansen technology loans at 0.1% interest, future projects may need to negotiate costlier international funding or face pressure to adopt foreign trainsets over indigenous prototypes, which could cut costs significantly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the MAHSR as a pilot for India’s broader bullet train ambitions under the “Viksit Bharat” vision, with locally designed high-speed trainsets from BEML, costing ₹866.87 crore, set for trials in the next two years.
