How the India-Middle-East-Europe Corridor rivals BRI

11 Sep 2023 CW Team

India's Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, shared insights on the proposed India-Middle-East-Europe Corridor in an exclusive interview with NDTV. Unlike China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has raised concerns about debt traps, Vaishnaw emphasised that this G20 project would generate revenue and prove financially viable. He stressed that the corridor aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of inclusivity, "sabka saath sabka vikas."

The India-Middle-East-Europe Corridor, often regarded as a response to the BRI, has garnered interest as a potential new Spice Route with US backing. However, some European nations remain sceptical. Italy, the only G7 nation to sign up initially, is reportedly reconsidering its participation due to concerns about debt-related challenges faced by host countries.

Vaishnaw pointed out that the G20 project offers more flexibility, allowing each participating country to tailor its involvement according to its specific needs. He expressed confidence in the corridor's financial viability, with multiple multilateral institutions showing interest in funding it. Vaishnaw suggested that the project's transportation component would generate substantial revenue, ensuring that host countries avoid falling into a debt trap.

This ambitious project, announced during the G20 summit, aims to connect railways, ports, electricity networks, data infrastructure, and hydrogen pipelines. By linking railway and port facilities across the Middle East, including countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, the corridor could potentially expedite trade between India and Europe by up to 40 per cent while bypassing the Suez Canal.

Real Estate

02 Apr 2026

Indian real estate attracts USD 1.4 bn institutional investments in Q1 2026: Vestian

Institutional investments in India’s real estate sector touched USD 1.4 billion in Q1 2026, marking the highest first-quarter inflow since 2022, according to Vestian. While investments fell 62 per cent quarter-on-quarter due to an exceptionally high base in the previous quarter, they rose 74 per cent compared to the same period last year, reflecting sustained investor confidence despite rising geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges.Commercial real estate remained the key driver of investment activity during the quarter, accounting for 80 per cent of total inflows, sharply higher than 38 p..

VECV crosses 1 lakh annual vehicle sales milestone in FY26

VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, has surpassed the 1 lakh annual sales mark in FY 2025–26, recording its highest-ever commercial vehicle sales performance. The company said it sold more than 100,000 vehicles during the year, marking a major milestone aligned with the original vision of the Volvo–Eicher joint venture.The strong performance was supported by demand across categories. Light and Medium Duty (LMD) trucks contributed 47,789 units, accounting for 46.1 per cent of total sales. Heavy Duty (HD) trucks recorded 26,867 units (25.9 pe..

Rodic Digital & Advisory partners SatSure to deploy EO intelligence in public sector

Rodic Digital & Advisory (RDA), the strategic advisory and digital transformation arm of Rodic Consultants, has signed a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SatSure to jointly pursue opportunities in India’s public sector. The collaboration aims to integrate high-resolution Earth Observation (EO) data and geospatial AI into government workflows to strengthen monitoring, compliance, and operational decision-making across key sectors.The partnership combines SatSure’s Earth intelligence capabilities with RDA’s expertise in government digital transformation and ..