India’s South Asian neighbours have all seen sharp currency devaluations since early 2022. These are a result of maintaining artificially strong exchange rates, made possible by remittances from migrant workers. However, by postponing the inevitable devaluations, these states have made their economic crises much worse.
Dhaka recently hosted the Indian Ocean Conference 2023, a multi-country event featuring speakers and participants from the Indian Ocean countries. In recent years, Bangladesh has gone from a ‘basket-case’ to a case study in progress, and across Dhaka are signs of a city undergoing dramatic change.
The Sri Lankan economy is showing signs of stabilizing after experiencing the worst contraction in its history in 2022. Decisive policies by President Ranil Wickremasinghe, timely Indian aid, and an IMF Programme have laid the groundwork for a return to growth. India and Sri Lanka must now shift from an aid relationship to one which deepens bilateral trade and investment flows.
In this era of multiple crises eroding multilateral institutions, G20 needs to come out clearly in favour of an expanded, more democratic, more representative, and more accountable UNSC. Shifting from a bottom-up to a top-down approach, G20 leaders should consider incorporating a calibrated but forward-looking paragraph on UNSC reform in the Delhi Declaration.
On 10-12 May, 2023, Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director, Gateway House participated in the T20 Mid-year Conference hosted by Think20 and G20 in Mumbai. She delivered a special address on the integral position of Mumbai in the Indo-Pacific, pointing out the city’s historical, geopolitical, maritime, and commercial linkages with the Indian Ocean world.
India, as chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, hosted the foreign ministers’ meet in Goa last week. What would have been an important and expanding regional grouping has been complicated by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the increased influence of China and an obstructionist Pakistan. Still, India has played its role with an eye on the long term.
The political campaigning in Karnataka’s upcoming state elections is heated and hectic, but disconnected from the economic entity that is Karnataka. Few of the issues of literacy, growth, and employment in other parts of India, apply to Karnataka. For Karnataka by itself is a middle-income country in the heart of India, a “tech-driven society” with a transformational global digital economy.
Our Distinguished Fellow for Foreign Policy Studies, Amb. Rajiv Bhatia, was quoted by WIONews on the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting. Read the full report here.
A report on “E-commerce: A Driver of Inclusive Growth in Sri Lanka?”, co-authored by Ganeshan Wignaraja, Professorial Fellow in Economics and Trade, Gateway House, and Anishka De Zylva, Head of Public Policy and Corporate Affairs, Daraz Sri Lanka, was presented to President Read more
The dominance of the U.S. dollar in global trade and its status as a fiat currency means it is unlikely to be replaced in the near future. However, the repeated and continued use of sanctions has created the need for a multi-currency trading regime. India must now prepare alternative payment systems and promote the use of the Indian rupee in global trade.
Courtesy: Reuters
Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune
Courtesy: Business World
Courtesy: T20 India
Courtesy: T20 India
Courtesy: Swarajya
Courtesy: Manjeet Kripalani
Courtesy: WION
Courtesy: SLASSCOM
Courtesy: Amit Bhandari