May 10, 2021
Even though it had been exempted from US economic sanctions, Iran’s Chabahar port project could not take off as various indirect financial drawbacks persisted. Having direct access to the Indian Ocean, the deep-sea port has potential to become a regional trade hub and bring in considerable revenue for Iran.
Yet Chabahar’s fortunes could change soon if China enters the fray. Having finalized a 25-year partnership with Tehran recently, Beijing may invest in the development of the port and help in giving global status.
In an interview with the Tehran Times April 27, Behrouz Aghaei, director general of the Ports and Maritime Department for Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, where Chabahar is located, described a much broader vision for the project, calling it the “Gate of Nations.”
The shipping sector is at sea
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Sagarmala provides hope for improving carrying capacity and developing infrastructure and ports
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Sagarmala provides hope for improving carrying capacity and developing infrastructure and ports
The major economies of the world have always realised the potential of shipping as a contributor to economic growth. Today, for instance, control of the seas is a key component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China is trying to take control of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean Region.
However, geographically, China is not as blessed as India. It has a great variety of climates and it has a coast only in the east; yet, seven of the top 10 container ports in the world are in China, according to the World Shipping Council. What aided China’s growth are strong merchant marine and infrastructure to carry and handle merchandise all over the world.
AFP
Manufacturing output saw a contraction of 1.7% as early as August 2019.
Boosting India’s manufacturing sector has long been on the agenda of successive governments, considering its major share in employment and the high multiplier effect on growth.
In times of a prolonged economic downturn stretching beyond the emergence of the pandemic, the Modi administration chose to pursue a policy path focused on the manufacturing sector as part of the $5 trillion economy goal and before with the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Under the second term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, manufacturing output contracted in 11 out of the 19 months since FY20, for which data on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was available.