Critical Minerals

Critical Minerals: The New Oil of the 21st Century?

Critical minerals are not literally the new oil, but they may play a comparable role in defining the balance of power. The race has already begun, and India’s preparedness will determine whether it merely secures access to the resources of the new century or helps shape the industrial order that emerges from them.

Trade Pivot Weakens Pakistan’s Grip on Afghanistan, as Others Move in

Afghanistan has sought to limit or reduce its structural vulnerability by moving trade through Iran’s Chabahar Port and Central Asian corridors. Kabul is realigning Afghanistan’s external economic geography by looking towards Iran, Central Asia, China and India.

India's Sugar Economy and Ethanol Politics: The Demand-Supply Imbalance Threatens to Mar Festival Season

The current rise in Indian sugar prices is the result of several factors rather than ethanol alone. Lower-than-expected production—from an initial estimate of 343 LMT to about 306 LMT—is central to the supply concern. Weather damage, disease, festival demand, global prices and market speculation have added to the pressure.

Can Iran's Chabahar Help Turkiye and India do Business?

Chabahar will not transform Türkiye–India relations. It can, however, show whether two countries with serious political disagreements are capable of making one difficult commercial route work.

More on Economy, Trade and Development

'CPEC is a transformational project for Pakistan'

Pakistani Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood has described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a transformational project, adding that there was a complete national consensus on CPEC's indispensability for the country's development efforts

India to deploy high-speed boats at Pangong Lake to thwart Chinese incursions

India will deploy boats with enhanced capabilities, including anti-ramming features, at Pangong Lake at eastern Ladakh, one of the border locations witnessing a dispute with China

China border situation sensitive, need for wider access highway, says Indian government to Supreme Court

India's Ministry of Defence, seeking expansion of road width in the Char Dham Highway project in Uttarakhand state, told the Supreme Court that situation on the ground at the India-China border has changed significantly this year and it has become imperative that men and equipment should move swiftly from army stations to the frontier

India's high-altitude readiness prompts China to go for emergency procurements

China is making last-minute efforts to make emergency procurements of high-altitude gear and clothing for its troops as they were caught unaware with India's readiness for the harsh winter atop the Eastern Ladkah heights that has been the bone of contention between the two Asian majors, Indian military intelligence officials say

China, Pakistan to enhance defense ties, expedite CPEC projects

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fanghe visited Pakistan on Monday and met with Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa

Maldives launches marketing blitz in China to increase tourist traffic

In an effort to boost tourist arrivals from China, the Maldives launched two major promotional campaigns in China, Sun news reported

Nepal Airlines comes up with options to get rid of six Chinese aircraft

Nepal Airlines has submitted four options to the Ministry of Tourism to get rid of the six inefficient Chinese aircraft in its fleet, five months after its board of directors unanimously decided to stop flying them as they were worsening its losses

Nepal-China border closure affects northern villages

Residents of several settlements in the northern parts of Sankhuwasabha and Taplejung districts are having a tough time managing essential commodities and finding markets for their products due to the protracted closure of the Nepal-China border amid coronavirus threat

Experts debunk Chinese scientists' Covid virus India origin claim

Health experts in India have refuted a claim made by Chinese scientists in a preprint paper that suggests that the Indian subcontinent might be the place where the earliest human-to-human SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurred

Chinese defence minister puts off visit to Bangladesh

Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe has suspended his visit to Dhaka that was scheduled for this week

What led to Chinese defense minister's 'sudden' visit to Nepal

Just days after Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla visited Nepal, the Chinese state councilor and defense minister Wei Fanghe hurridly paid a one day visit to Nepal on Sunday, The Himalayan Times reported

Chinese stopover in Nepal militarily significant and politically symbolic

Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe on Sunday landed in Kathmandu for a daylong stopover during which he held a whirlwind of meetings with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, also the defence minister, President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Nepal Army Chief Purna Chandra Thapa before flying straight to Pakistan in the evening

Chinese Defence Minister to arrive in Nepal Sunday

China’s Minister of National Defence and the first-ranked State Councillor, Wei Fenghe, is paying a one-day working visit to Nepal on Sunday

Chinese scientists claim coronavirus originated in India, Bangladesh

A team of researchers from China’s Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences have claimed that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus existed in India and Bangladesh long before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan in December last year

With China in mind, Indian Navy enhances interoperability with friendly navies

Considering that Indian armed forces are presently preparing for war, the last quarter of 2020 has been quite eventful for the Indian Navy