Editorial – October 2024
As we all know, India is the fastest-growing large economy in the world, surpassing even giants like the US, China, and Germany. We have seen for more than two decades, from 2000 till 2022, that China continuously expanded its economy at a double-digit growth rate. Now, it seems the Chinese economy is slowing down a bit. Many experts believe that China has crossed the fastest-growing period in the famous economic growth curve. The US is struggling with its internal issues, such as illegal immigration and state-center relations, and though its economy is growing, the growth rate is not satisfactory. The EU is also fighting a recession in most of its member countries, and though Germany’s economy is supposed to be the strongest among EU countries, it is also facing the threat of a recession. Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that India’s economy is growing at a decent rate and will continue to do so in the coming years.
I have repeatedly mentioned in this column that India’s economic growth is triggered by infrastructure development, and ‘metals’ are at the center of infra development. One cannot imagine infrastructure development without metals. Thus, if India’s economy has to grow, it must have strong support from the metals industry. In this way, the growth of the metals industry is directly related to the economic growth of the country. There may be temporary ups and downs in the journey, but the overall direction is certainly north.
Infrastructure development-led economic growth is a striking feature not only of India but also of other South Asian countries. The economy will revolve around big infra projects, but if we look around, most of India’s neighbors are in trouble. Look at the situation in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and the Maldives. All these countries are facing political crises. Until last year, Bangladesh’s economy was doing quite well, but political instability has ruined it completely. A similar story is true for most of the other neighboring countries. Friends, here is the opportunity for India. As the big brother, India is helping these countries come out of the crisis, sometimes by giving aid and sometimes by giving business. I think the metals industry should look for more and more business opportunities with these countries. Our associations should invite companies from these countries to their events, offer them memberships, and expand our activities in these countries as well. This can help not only metal producers and processors but also technology and equipment-supplying companies to expand their business activities in these regions.
In this way, we can help the domestic industry and also strengthen our country’s influence in these nations, isn’t it?