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Real politics depends on the ability to take advantage of every available option without any hindrance of ideological rigidity. India and China are fighting like cats and dogs for influence in Asia. Both are trying to corner the markets but over the decade, China has dominated its economically having projects with the Eastern Hemisphere. India could be a major trading partner in its own might, but China's Belt and Road initiative has raised concerns about the siege.

India is now grabbing the bull by the horns and launching several ambitious trade corridors in all directions. If this blueprint can restructure trade across the region, India will become a pillar of the global economy and it will gain her an economic influence with much political weight.

China's economic influence:

Since 2001, China has been looking for ways to re-invent regional ties in Eurasia. The most famous example of this policy is the Belt and Road Initiative, which includes two components: Consists of clustered rail and road infrastructure, which stretches from Central Asia to Europe to the west. Some people call it the New Silk Road.  The second component is a sea route consisting of Chinese-built ports that stretch westward into the Indian Ocean, dubbed as ‘string of pearls.’

Communication projects are often seen as a tool to use influence. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor completely prevents India from entering Central Asian markets. It is safe to say that the Belt and Road initiative strengthens Beijing's hand while undermining New Delhi's dominance over its neighbours.  Looking at the map, it is not difficult to imagine that India is surrounded by China, which is unacceptable to India. Resultantly, India is taking many measures to counter China’s growing influence.

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International north-south transport corridor:

 India's response is the International North-South Transport Corridor, which was first signed in September 2000. This corridor looks to promote India's connectivity to European markets starting from Mumbai on a multi-modular route at Bandrabas. It will be connected to the Iranian port, from where the railway infrastructure will be connected to Baku. The corridor will extend further to Moscow, Azerbaijan and then to Astrakhan in Russia, and finally, resting in St. Petersburg. The 7,200-kilometer north-south transport corridor will stop at various detentions. It creates value chains—the trade corridors where large infrastructure investments are made with an industrial base, so the route from point A to point B develops a permanent additional centre within these two points, forming a dynamic manufacturing belt that connects nations and regions.

A trial in 2014 found that the North-South Transport Corridor was 40% faster and 30% cheaper than the traditional sea route. The route the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean will reduce the distance between Mumbai and Moscow from 16,000 km to 7,000 km. North-south transport corridor is revolutionary in terms of international trade. However, Iran being a mountainous country means that Iran has lagged behind in railway infrastructure which creates difficulty for India. Further, Iran is sanctioned economically making it difficult for India to forge economic relations with it. India has spent two decades correcting and adjusting the technical aspects of the corridor but has not made any progress. Until Iran is facing sanctions, the North-South Transport Corridor will be a questionable plan.

Wikipedia


Neighborhood First Policy of India:

In 2014, India introduced a more modest policy called Neighborhood First, which was aimed at resolving India's differences with its smaller neighbours in order to curb China's influence in the region. It extended the credits, signed trade agreements, and extended unstinting foreign aid to Bhutan. In 2019, about $350 million in foreign aid was received by Bhutan. There has been some success in the initial phase of the program, but that progress has been reversed over the years, with the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh actually moving closer to China. Ironically, Afghanistan was the only real success story in the first policy, but with the capture of the Taliban, every ounce of Indian influence was dissolved.

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Asia-Africa Development Corridor:

Lack of success forced India to adopt a new grand strategy in 2017, this time, together with Japan. The project is being touted as the Asia-Africa Development Corridor, which was started by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe. The idea was to connect India to Africa. India has strong ties economic ties with Southeast Africa. Modi has visited almost every African country during his political career so he understood the plan and made it a strategic goal. However, the Asia-Africa Development Corridor lacked an effective implementation plan. Even the African countries participating in the corridor were never disclosed. No progress had been made on the corridor until 2021. The Africa Growth Corridor was failure since inception.

Source: Research Gate

The Arab-Mediterranean Sea route:

India's latest trade plan is to access Europe and appears to be more practical than previous programs. It is designed as a route to the Arabian Mediterranean, via the existing road and rail routes in the Middle East. The plan is to connect India to European markets through infrastructure. Professor Michael Tenham, from the Institute of South Asian Studies at the University of Singapore, described India's Eurasian connectivity as ideal transformation, as the project could be imagined a few years ago.

India: a food basket:

India's agricultural sector could turn out as an indispensable force in regional supply and demand to provide some perspective. Climate change is expected to have a significant impact on the Middle East in the coming decades. Warming up to twice as long, it will last a long time heat waves will intensify desertification and prolonged droughts will lead to food and water shortages. Valuable commodities will be in short supply. India, as the fourth largest agricultural producer, can develop up to $7 billion to build new mega food parks and work with Israel to increase agricultural production.

India has also signed a comprehensive strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates, promising to increase bilateral trade by 60% and to invest up to $75 billion in new infrastructure, which is a huge amount. Emirati companies are currently building and acquiring new ports with parameters. In the Indian Ocean, while the Arabian-Mediterranean corridor looks primarily at European markets.