Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said that India’s domestic socioeconomic successes and the welfare reforms are the reasons for the country’s increasing stature globally.
Speaking at the inauguration of the REVA University Centre of Excellence for Geopolitics and International Studies, Mr. Puri said, “There has been a paradigmatic shift in governance in the last ten years. From the days of policy paralysis before 2014, we are now seeing an era of transformative policies that benefit the citizen directly.” He said that India is already the fifth-largest economy in the world, and soon, will become the third-largest economy.
“With a growth rate of 7.3% over the first three quarters of the current fiscal year, India is demonstrating that it is on a high-growth trajectory to achieve its development goals by 2047,” he said.
India-Russia Track II Dialogue
The university also hosted the India-Russia Track II Dialogue – REVA University Vishwa Samvada 2024. The dialogue was an extension of previous sessions held in New Delhi and Mumbai.
Feodor Voitolovsky, director, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, who participated in the track II dialogue said that the world order is in a long-term transition period and that it is slowly moving towards a system which is multi-polar but polycentric.
“In this polycentric system, interdependence goes together with growing competition and the number of major powers is growing. The number of actors and relations among them is becoming more and more complex because it is not a bipolar system. I hope it will not be a bipolar system again. Both Russia and India are interested in a very balanced polycentric multi-lateral system in which they can play a significant role,” Dr. Voitolovsky said.
Impact of sanctions
On the international sanctions imposed on Russia due to the Ukraine war, Dr. Voitolovsky said that sanctions are having a physiological effect rather than the real economic impact. He said that this has benefited trade between India and Russia.
“According to figures of 2023 India-Russia trade had amounted to $ 65 billion turnover which is a fantastic figure. In the past we were only reaching $ 8 billion. The decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to continue and develop trade with Russia is with Indian interest and it was absolutely a rational decision,” he said.
