Russia's war in Ukraine is the biggest bugbear for the global economy in 2022-23.
It has directly or indirectly raised the prices of a vast range of things- from food and cooking gas, soaps and cosmetics, cars and city transport, steel and aluminium, to flight tickets and shipping freight.
It's the biggest choke on a world sputtering to a recovery after two years of pandemic slump.
Russia's war in Ukraine is the biggest bugbear for the global economy in 2022-23.
It has directly or indirectly raised the prices of a vast range of things- from food and cooking gas, soaps and cosmetics, cars and city transport, steel and aluminium, to flight tickets and shipping freight.
It's the biggest choke on a world sputtering to a recovery after two years of pandemic slump.
Russia's war in Ukraine is the biggest bugbear for the global economy in 2022-23.
It has directly or indirectly raised the prices of a vast range of things- from food and cooking gas, soaps and cosmetics, cars and city transport, steel and aluminium, to flight tickets and shipping freight.
It's the biggest choke on a world sputtering to a recovery after two years of pandemic slump.
2. What has happened ?
• Russia's war in Ukraine is the biggest
bugbear for the global economy in
2022-23.
• It has directly or indirectly raised the
prices of a vast range of things- from
food and cooking gas, soaps and
cosmetics, cars and city transport,
steel and aluminium, to flight tickets
and shipping freight.
• It's the biggest choke on a world
sputtering to a recovery after two
years of pandemic slump.
3. ALL
COUNTRIES
ARE
SUFFERING.
But for India, there
are a few
unexpected
windfalls too -
thanks in part to
the global nature
of commodity
markets and the
steady diplomatic
relation that Delhi
has maintained
with the global
pariahs in
Moscow.
4.
5. WHEAT
EXPORT
• Russia and Ukraine account for 30% of the
global wheat trade and the war raised the
cereal's price by a fifth in March.
• It just so happens that this year India has posted
its highest ever wheat production of 111 million
tonnes.
• It has given a rare opportunity in a commodity
that India started exporting in earnest only a
decade ago.
• Exports have already hit a record high of more
than 7 million tonnes in 2021-22, about 10
times the amount exported in 2011-12. And
there will be more in 2022-23.
6.
7. Bangladesh, which
accounted for 55% of
India's export
volumes in 2020-21,
was also the third
largest export
destination for
Russia.
So, this year India's
exports to its
neighbor have grown.
India is also trying to
strike deals with
Russia's top two
export markets,
Egypt and Turkey.
India is using the
bounty for economic
diplomacy too.
It has agreed with the
United Nations World
Food Program to
donate 50,000 tonnes
to Afghanistan, which
has been devastated
by a drought and
economic turmoil.
8. DISCOUNTED
OIL
Oil is the biggest
troublemaker that
affects prices across
sectors.
Though Russia
accounted for less
than 2% of India's oil
imports in 2020-21,
the war has raised
global prices.
Given that India
imports more than
80% of its needs, it's a
major speed breaker
for an economy
raring to sprint.
Russia's offer of $35 a
barrel discount to the
pre-war prices would
go a long way in
mitigating the
expected inflation
and foreign exchange
woes this year.
9. • Given that the price of the benchmark Brent crude was at $97 on
February 23, the day before the invasion, Russia's promise would
mean a price of $62 - about half the price in Europe at the beginning
of April.
• Though the amount bought is insignificant for now, it's increasing as
the new payment and insurance mechanisms are getting sorted to
avoid western sanctions.
• It would give India a rare advantage in a world whose recovery
hinges on keeping oil prices in check.
10. INDIAN
AIRLINES
India reopened its skies to
all international flights
from March 27.
In the month before,
Russia closed its airspace
to 36 countries as a
retaliatory measure for
Europe's ban on Russian
carriers.
But India, which remains
in Russia's good books,
was spared a block.
The Russian Federation's
airspace - which straddles
the breadth of Asia - is
important for carriers
plying lucrative long-haul
flights from Asia to
Europe and North
America, including on the
fuel-saving polar routes.
11.
12. • With fighter planes, missiles and drones buzzing over Ukraine, its
airspace is closed to all commercial flights.
• So, if Russia is closed too, airlines flying, say, the direct London-
Delhi or Mumbai-Montreal routes would have to make very long
roundabouts, adding to the costs in a gutted travel market.
• It's a massive disadvantage for western carriers because jet fuel
prices, which account for about 40% of an airline's running costs,
have recently hit a record high.
13.
14. TECH JOBS
• In another boon from the blue, as many as 55,000-65,000 jobs in the
IT and IT-enabled sectors are expected to shift to India because of
the war.
• This is mainly because countries such as Poland, Belarus, Croatia,
Romania and Bulgaria depend on Ukraine for much their tech
workforce.
15.
16. Other outsourcing powerhouses like the Philippines, Mexico
and Brazil would benefit too, but some Indian companies'
familiarity with the market is expected to give them an edge.
The jobs are likely to include low and mid-range R&D and
engineering work, back-office functions, data processing,
customer support and solution maintenance services.
17. DIPLOMATIC NEUTRALITY
India found itself in a
diplomatic tug-of-war when
Russia rolled into Ukraine.
Russia is India's biggest arms
supplier and a diplomatic ally
whose intervention during
the 1971 Bangladesh war is
still not forgotten in Delhi.
On the other side is the US,
Ukraine's most powerful ally
and India's largest trade and
strategic partner.
India has chosen to stay
neutral.
18. In a way, it rediscovered the Nehruvian mantra of non-
alignment under which India refused to condemn or
support USSR repeatedly at the UN.
This week, India voiced its dismay at the butchery in
Bucha, the Ukrainian town where several unarmed
civilians were gunned down.
But the day after, as two-thirds of the UN General
Assembly voted to boot Russia out of the Human Rights
Council, India abstained along with 57 other countries.
In Parliament, the government won rare support from the
Opposition on the issue. A bipartisanship that earned
praise from the Prime Minister too.