The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, has declared the recently announced India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor as a significant strategic and economic game changer for India and other participating regions. This statement was made during the presentation of the Interim Budget 2024-25 in Parliament, where the Minister echoed Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision that this corridor “will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come, and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil”.
The Finance Minister pointed out the complex and challenging nature of current global geopolitics, marked by wars, conflicts, and the redefinition of globalization. She noted reshoring and friend-shoring trends, disruptions and fragmentation in supply chains, and competition for critical minerals and technologies as key elements shaping this new dynamic. This backdrop sets the stage for a new world order post the COVID-19 pandemic.
During its G20 Presidency, India faced a global economic environment characterized by high inflation, high interest rates, low growth, high public debt, and low trade growth, compounded by climate challenges. The pandemic also led to a crisis in food, fertilizer, fuel, and finances worldwide. However, India successfully navigated these challenges and played a pivotal role in building consensus on solutions to global problems.
On the investment front, Smt. Sitharaman highlighted the substantial Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow during 2014-23, amounting to USD 596 billion, which is double the inflow recorded during 2005-14. This period is regarded as a golden era for FDI in India. In her budget speech, the Minister emphasized that to encourage sustained foreign investment, India is negotiating bilateral investment treaties with various countries, guided by the principle of ‘first develop India’.