‘Modi government wants to break China’
Analysts say that although India’s economy is booming, foreign direct investment is dwindling. Therefore, the government wants Saudi Arabia to go ahead with the promised investment of 100 billion dollars in the country.
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman had pledged to invest 100 billion dollars in India during his visit to India last year.
The country’s two big capitalists, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, are urging the government to promote economic relations with Saudi Arabia, economists say.
Prime Minister Modi proposed investments to Saudi Arabia in sectors such as waterways, ports, railways, highways infrastructure, energy, hydrogen and gas grids.
The way the economy is being managed is not right, says economist Sharad Raghavan The government claims that in the next three years, India will become the third largest economy in the world with a GDP of five trillion dollars.
India is keen on large-scale investment from Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia is also ready for officialization in various sectors.
The two countries have held extensive discussions on promoting investment in various sectors including refining, petrochemical plants, modern and renewable energy, telecom and power.
Analysts say that although India’s economy is booming, foreign direct investment is dwindling. Therefore, the government wants Saudi Arabia to go ahead with the investment of 100 billion dollars promised in the country.
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman had pledged to invest 100 billion dollars in India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of his visit to India last year.
In this regard, the first meeting of the high-level task force of the two countries was held over the weekend. The virtual meeting was chaired by PK Mishra, Principal Secretary in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia.
India has invited Saudi Arabia to set up a Public Investment Fund (PIF) and open an office in the country while also inviting the Saudi Energy Minister to visit New Delhi for the next meeting of the Task Force.
A high-level and empowered delegation led by the Indian Petroleum Secretary will also visit Saudi Arabia for further discussions on mutually beneficial investments in oil and gas sectors.
‘Local investment has declined’
Renowned economist Professor Amirullah Khan says that foreign direct investment (FDI) in India has almost reached zero and currently there is barely $65-70 billion in foreign investment.
According to him, the decline in foreign investment, which started during the last decade, has accelerated after the Corona epidemic, one of the reasons for which is the change in the political environment.
According to him, foreign investment is decreasing due to the war in Ukraine and the downturn in the European markets. So India is looking for countries from where FDI can come.
According to Amirullah Khan, India used to import crude oil from Iraq, but due to the deterioration of the situation, it started importing oil from Iran and now India is eyeing Saudi Arabia.
Some economic experts say that the country’s two big capitalists, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, are pushing the government to promote economic relations with Saudi Arabia.
Professor Amirullah Khan says Mukesh Ambani is involved in the petrochemical sector while Adani is in the shipping sector. Both want to promote economic relations with Saudi Arabia. Crude oil should be bought from Saudi Arabia and petrol oil and lubricants should be sold to it like UAE.
During Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to New Delhi, Saudi Arabia outlined steps to accelerate a long-term plan to invest $100 billion in India. Of this, $50 billion was earmarked for the West Coast refinery.
At that time, Prime Minister Modi had proposed Saudi investment in sectors such as waterways, ports, railways, highways infrastructure, energy, hydrogen and gas grids.
It should be noted that companies like Saudi Oil Company Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, SABIC, Alfanar Energy and Zamal Air Conditioners India Private Limited are investing in India. While Indian companies like Wipro, Manahl International Company and Larsen & Toubro are doing business in Saudi Arabia.
According to the data, Saudi Arabia had a direct investment of 68 million dollars in 2023.
According to the website of the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, between 2016 and 2019, India’s imports from Saudi Arabia were $42.3 billion and exports were $10.72 billion.
In the year 2022-2023, India’s trade with Saudi Arabia was 4.53 percent of India’s total trade.
According to the website, India’s investment in Saudi Arabia has increased in recent years and currently stands at two billion dollars. These investments are being made by L&T, Tata, Wipro, TCS, TCIL, Air India, GoAir, IndiGo and SpiceJet etc.
“Not even one of Delhi’s 51 billionaires has invested in the country.”
