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1. India in the Indo-Pacific: Pursuing Prosperity and Security

Author:
Christopher Conte
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
Research Papers in this compendium include: India, the Blue Economy and the Indo-Pacific’s Future (Amb. Rajiv Bhatia); Green Hydrogen: Securing the Energy Supply Chain in the Indo-Pacific (Amit Bhandari); Enhancing Regional Financial Intermediation in the Indo-Pacific (David Rasquinha); India’s Diaspora: Soft Power in the Indo-Pacific Countries (Sifra Lentin); India in the Resilient Supply Chain Initiative: Opportunities, Challenges & Possible Collaborations (Roger C. Liu); India’s Indispensable Role in Human and Economic Security in the Indo-Pacific (Cleo Paskal); Extending India’s Maritime Security Strategy in the Indo-Pacific (Cdr. Amrut Godbole); India’s Current and Potential Contribution to Cyber Resilience in the Indo-Pacific (Sameer Patil); Digital Public Goods for the Indo-Pacific: A Techno-legal Approach to Data Empowerment & Protection (Sanjay Anandaram & Manjeet Kripalani); India’s Role in Equipping Earth Observation Satellites for the Indo-Pacific (Dr. Chaitanya Giri).
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, Economy, Maritime, Prosperity, Supply Chains, Hydrogen, and Satellite
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Indo-Pacific

2. Achieving the Promise of Hydrogen for India and the World

Author:
Amit Bhandari, Chaitanya Giri, and Saeeduddin Faridi
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
On February 17, India launched the Green Hydrogen Policy which facilitates the production of hydrogen and ammonia to replace fossil fuels. Produced from water by electrolysis, green hydrogen offers a way to store renewable energy in bulk. This paper analyses the viability of green hydrogen in India as a vehicle fuel and industrial gas, and makes recommendations for the usage of this clean energy source by companies, entrepreneurs, and policy-makers.
Topic:
Entrepreneurship, Economy, Renewable Energy, Fossil Fuels, and Hydrogen
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

3. Regulating Big Tech: A Balancing Act

Author:
Ambika Khanna, Blaise Fernandes, Manjeet Kripalani, and Kartik Ashta
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
Big Tech is powerful and its profits are growing - by 105% over the last year. It dominates economies. This raises concerns about data protection and privacy, anti-trust, fintech and the specific role of intermediaries. India is leading the way on fintech, but is behind several countries and institutions on digital rules. It is important to establish laws and rules to govern technology – whether domestic or through multilateral bodies – with the aim to strike the right balance between innovation and regulation.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Regulation, Finance, Economy, Innovation, Industry, and Digital Revolution
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

4. Quad Economy and Technology Task Force Report

Author:
Gateway House
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
Conceived in 2020, the task force studied promising areas for cooperation between the Quad countries beyond their pre-existing maritime security partnership. The report highlights the need to increase economic and technological interdependence among the Quad countries and to establish common and updated rules and standards for emerging technologies in five study areas. The unique mix of the group – three developed and one developing nation, three Pacific and one Indian Ocean nation, three producer-trading nations with one massive emerging market – lends itself to innovation, experimentation and cooperation that can be a template for a new, post-pandemic geopolitical era.
Topic:
Climate Change, International Cooperation, Science and Technology, Economy, Vaccine, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Japan, India, Australia, and United States of America

5. The domestic dimensions of India’s international economic crisis

Author:
Karan Pradhan
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
As recently as three years ago, India was being hailed by the international community as an upcoming economic superpower along with China. Now, however, the country finds itself wading through a severe economic slowdown and at the precipice of a potential balance of payment crisis. The rupee plummeted to historic levels before a recent rally provided momentary relief. The declining foreign exchange reserves have led some experts to compare the situation with India’s 1991 crisis; a few even suggested that the country needs to consider seeking International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans. The Indian government’s economic mismanagement is largely to blame and there is no substitute for good governance. However, India’s business community has abdicated its role of providing the government with an independent opinion and pushing for critical reforms. Corporate India can play a leading role in pulling the country out of this mire by altering its own approach towards government inaction. This would include reforming Indian chambers of commerce and advocating for key measures such as stimulating domestic investment, better coordination between centre and state, and rethinking India’s energy policy. These largely domestic measures will have a wide-ranging impact on India’s international economic policy and financial standing.
Topic:
Reform, Finance, Economy, Business, and Economic Crisis
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

6. India’s Strategic Imperative in the South Pacific

Author:
Tevita Motulalo
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
As the global centre of gravity shifts to the Indo-Pacific, triggered in part by Chinese expansion and the U.S.’s Pacific “rebalancing,” an expanding Indian engagement with the South Pacific becomes a geoeconomic and geostrategic imperative. The South Pacific sits at the “pivot” of the Pacific rebalancing. It is a largely stable region with a relatively small population; it has abundant resources (the Exclusive Economic Zone of the country of Kiribati alone is 3.5 million square kilometres, greater than the total land and maritime EEZ area of India); it is at the crossroads of vibrant and growing maritime trade routes; and it is increasingly strategically located. Under the “one country, one vote” rule of most international fora, the 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) play a significant role in deciding international institutional legitimacy, which is increasingly important for India as it seeks a greater role in global affairs. There is enormous scope for closer economic, political, and strategic ties between India and the South Pacific. Ties between the two are already friendly and age-old, with myriad cultural compatibilities. But if India continues to neglect the region, it will become increasingly difficult for India to maintain, or to regain, a toehold, while other powers like China manoeuvre for, and establish, entrenched positions. Just one example of India’s low-key engagement in the region: it has only two High Commissions in the 14 PICs. One is in Fiji, because of its sizable Indian diaspora, the other is in Papua New Guinea, because of trade and minerals. India routinely goes unrepresented at regional meetings held in the other 12 PICs. In contrast, China has a major diplomatic mission in almost every PIC. India and the PICs are natural partners which only need to 6 build the right bridges to come together to make the South Pacific and thereby the greater Indo-Pacific more economically, politically, and strategically secure. Others have already realised the region’s potential and are moving fast. The question is: Will India catch the South Pacific wave, or be washed over by it?
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economy, Regional Integration, and Strategic Engagement
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and South Pacific

7. India and the BRICS

Author:
Gateway House
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
Over the last decade, countries known under the emerging markets acronym of BRICS, have begun to seriously define their common interests and values. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have held three summits so far – in Russia, Brazil and China. On March 29, they will meet again, this time in New Delhi, with the goal of addressing the global economic condition, reforming financial and regulatory institutions and improving cooperation with each other on a host of international issues from starting a BRICS development bank to interchanging high tech skills. While these issues directly impact them, they also affect much of the developing world. Though different in size and resources, the BRICS nations as a group are massive: they account for 45% of the world population, 25% of global GDP and 50% of recent global growth. Together, they have the potential to create a future model for others. As an independent market-focused Indian think tank, Gateway House has been deeply invested in the future of India and its BRICS counterparts. What is the best way to develop affordable housing for large population nations? What is the best way to secure long term, manageable energy supplies? Can healthcare be delivered more efficiently, en masse, and to remote regions? How much sustained growth is required to making one of these large nations succeed? How can the inflation-growth trade-off be managed? Is there a better way to produce and deliver food than with only large scale enterprise? Can the BRICS be lenders of best resort for each other? How to best take advantage of the globalization of technology? The summaries of research papers in this booklet begin to offer some answers. In “India-Brazil: Pioneers of a new development agenda,” researcher Estefanía Marchán examines the possibilities for India to bring affordable housing technology to Brazil, while Brazil offers its experience with programmes to develop profitable small farms and deliver cash payments with modern networks to the poor. Marchan then looks at how the lessons from India-Brazil cooperation might be passed on with good results to Africa. In “India-Russia: Taking each other seriously,” Russia Studies research fellow Katherine Foshko looks at why a once-healthy India-Russia relationship has gone into quietude and suggests that a tech revival should be advanced. “Information technology in particular is an area where India should capitalize on the plethora of educated and talented Russian professionals and Russia can benefit from the size as well as the expertise of the Indian labor pool,” she writes. Similarly, K. N. Vaidyanathan, the former executive director of India’s Securities and Exchange Board and senior Geo-economics Fellow, makes a case that India’s careful, deliberate approach to permitting financial derivatives on its exchanges protected it from the ravages of the 2008 global crash. It has created a model for BRICS and other developing countries, which are seeking to grow while insulating their financial markets from global shocks. Renu Modi, an professor at the University of Mumbai who directed its African Studies Center, points out that while South Africa might have been inducted into the BRIC’s club as a “gift”, its greater as a gateway to the 1-billion-person African continent. There are also cautionary notes. The two largest nations, Indian and China, are both experiencing slower growth, but their outcomes couldn’t be more different, write Gateway House executive director Manjeet Kripalani and adviser Bob Dowling. China is engineering a slowdown to encourage a consumer economy but India is heading for a dangerous stall that must be reversed. Meanwhile, researcher Samir N. Kapadia explains that while China is a friendly banker to BRICS, its lending comes with strings attached.
Topic:
Development, GDP, Economy, and BRICS
Political Geography:
Russia, China, South Asia, India, South Africa, and Brazil

8. Good Regulation is Good Governance 101

Author:
K N Vaidyanathan
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
In 1925, at the time that Britain reverted to the gold standard, Winston Churchill, then Chancellor, said that he would like to see ‘finance less proud and industry more secure.’ The move was criticized by economists for overvaluation of the British Pound; but the quote was prescient and is especially relevant today, when the hubris of the financial markets has fractured the global economy so excessively. Course correction so far has relied on bailouts. Instead what is immediately needed is the observance of good governance in regulation and in the long term, a restructuring of the regulatory architecture. Key to this is the recovery of ground lost by the regulator in ensuring market integrity, reinforcement of the currency of financial markets viz., trust, and deliverance of market stability which will help the underlying economy and the society at large. In sum: ensuring good regulation through good governance. This is the challenge before regulators today. The impact and import of the global financial crisis can be judged by two simple numbers: global market capitalization and GDP growth. (Source – the World Federation of Exchanges www.world-exchanges.org data.worldbank.org), They grew from $17.1 trillion and $27.5 trillion in 1990 to $ 64.5 trillion and $ 63.2 trillion, in 2007 respectively. A year later, market capitalization had almost halved to $ 33.5 trillion while GDP growth fell from over 5% to 3% in 2008 and -0.5% in 2009. The crisis that surfaced in 2007 has already peaked twice, in 2008 and 2011, and is far from over. In every analysis, financial market regulators have been accused of sleeping at their desks, held captive by the industry, remaining benign as the party went on and even abetting the excesses both wittingly and unwittingly.
Topic:
Markets, Governance, Regulation, Economy, and Global Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Global Focus