Series overview
The world has entered the second year of a crisis that has crippled the global economy, stretched healthcare to its limits, and profoundly affected systems of government, business, finance and consumption. How quickly an international recovery takes place will depend significantly on how large emerging markets like India get back on their feet, using the pandemic as a catalyst to transform their economies.
India’s fundamentals remain strong. Its giant consumer market, youthful population, rule of law, vibrant technology industry and surging digital community, if combined with forward-looking government initiatives and socio-economic programmes, could ensure India remains a leading player on the world stage. But how much ground has been lost due to the pandemic? What measures should be taken as a priority -- across public and private sectors -- to revive India’s competitiveness, both as an economic and political power?
India’s position in a post-pandemic world will be the subject of a series of four agenda-setting online events organised by the Financial Times and the Indian Express, in a major new partnership bringing together policy, business and finance leaders from India and beyond.
India's recovery: What shape will it take?
Upcoming events
22 April 2021
India's Quest for Economic Power
The pandemic has clouded the outlook for India’s economic and business growth. What are the Modi government’s key policy priorities to rebuild the economy and will they ensure a resilient, sustainable recovery? What policies should be implemented specifically to assist businesses and ensure future global competitiveness in key sectors? What structural reforms are still required? What must India do to attract the kind of foreign investor attention China continues to enjoy?
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20 May 2021
India, China and the US: A New Geopolitical Landscape?
India and China have long jockeyed for influence in the Indo-Pacific region. However bilateral tensions have increased markedly since a border clash last year. With China potentially set to gain further regional and global dominance due to its rapid economic recovery, and with all other major powers under some compulsion to engage with China on a range of issues, how will India position itself in the post-COVID world order? How will its relations evolve with the US under the new Biden administration, and to what extent will the US see India as a vital constraint on China’s ambitions under Xi Jinping?
9 September 2021
Banking and Finance: The Key to India's Recovery?
To strengthen its economic and political power, India needs its industry to grow in tandem. Banking and Finance is a critical sector, but remains weighed down by a very large long-standing non-performing loan burden and continued dominance by state-owned institutions. Official initiatives such as the 2016 Bankruptcy Law, the creation of small finance banks and the tapping of an unbanked rural population are positive steps. But bolder reforms are essential, not least to cement the advantage that digital payments are providing to the finance industry. Does the finance sector have sufficient capacity to support the economic recovery? How important is India’s booming fintech sector to economic growth?
23 November 2021
New Technology and the Green Economy: Two Trends Shaping a New India?
Amid the massive economic and social scarring from the pandemic, two outcomes have emerged that may have a positive impact -- the acceleration of digital transformation, as governments, businesses and consumers shifted activities online to cope with lockdown, and a renewed attention to resilience and sustainability, with a focus on addressing climate change, the next global emergency. India has clearly seen a major expansion of disruptive technologies. Does this trend have the longevity to bring long-term economic benefits? On climate, will India be able to meet its ambitious targets for renewable energy capacity, particularly given its continued reliance on coal? This event is timed to follow the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, UK.
Is India ready to compete again on the world stage?
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