28-Apr-2019: Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor no longer listed under BRI umbrella
India’s decision to skip the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) may have led to the exclusion of the Bangladesh- China- India- Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor from the list of projects covered by the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella.
In an annex tagged with the Joint Communiqué of the Leaders' Roundtable of the BRF, which concluded in Beijing recently, the Chinese foreign ministry website has not listed the BCIM as a project covered by the BRI—the giant connectivity initiative spearheaded by China to revive the ancient Silk Road across Eurasia and Africa. Instead, South Asia is covered by three major undertakings—the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), the Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network, including Nepal-China cross-border railway, as well as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Citing “sovereignty” concerns, India, for the second time, has not officially participated in the BRF, as CPEC—a flagship of the BRI—passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The 2800 km BCIM corridor proposes to link Kunming in China’s Yunnan province with Kolkata, passing though nodes such as Mandalay in Myanmar and Dhaka in Bangladesh before heading to Kolkata.
Over the past five years or so, the four countries [of the BCIM] have worked together to build this corridor in the framework of joint working groups, and have planned a number of major projects in institutional development, infrastructure connectivity, cooperation in trade and industrial parks, cooperation and opening up in the financial market, cultural exchange, and cooperation in enhancing people's wellbeing.
Last September, the BRI had got a high octane boost when Myanmar — facing the heat from the West because of the Rohingya refugee crisis — inked an agreement with Beijing to establish the CMEC. The 1,700-km corridor provides China yet another node to access the Indian Ocean. The CMEC will run from Yunnan Province of China to Mandalay in Central Myanmar. From there it will head towards Yangon, before terminating at the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on the Bay of Bengal. Last August, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) opened a new center in Yangon, which could help fund some of the CMEC driven projects.
The CMEC will also reduce Beijing’s trade and energy reliance on the Malacca straits — the narrow passage that links the Indian Ocean with the Pacific. Chinese planners worry that the military domination over the Malacca straits of the United States — a country with which it is already engaged in a trade war — can threaten one of China’s major economic lifeline.
The CMEC was proposed during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Myanmar in November 2017, because India has not been acting on the BCIM sub regional cooperation proposal. So it is better for China to go for bilateral cooperation with Myanmar and simultaneously wait for India’s participation.
At a press conference ahead of the BRF, Mr. Wang, the state councilor and foreign minister, was emphatic that ties between India and China were insulated from their differences on the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He had also stressed that China-India ties had a “bright future” and the two countries were preparing for a summit between their leaders as a follow-up to last year’s two-day across-the board Wuhan informal summit between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan connectivity network listed by the annex starts from Chengdu, from where it is linked to Tibet by the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, or the Sichuan-Tibet Railway. It is proposed that the railway from Tibet will be further extended to Kathmandu, via Ya’an, Qamdo, Lhasa and Shigatse. Chinese planners visualise that railway will be eventually connected with the Indian railway network, linking China and India across the Himalayas.
19-Apr-2017: Dialogue on stalled BCIM corridor set to resume again
Negotiations on the stalled Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor is set to resume next week in Kolkata.
After a gap of over two year, the meeting of Joint Study Group (JSG) of academics and officials of the four countries on April 25-26 is expected to finalise the road map for the BCIM economic corridor, scholars at a seminar at Nanchong, southwest China. The China West Normal University is hosting a conference of scholars from China, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka on the prospects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in South Asia.
The last meeting of the BCIM was held in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh in December 2014.
There is a perception among Chinese scholars that India had become lukewarm to the BCIM project by linking it with its reservations on the China-Pakistan economic corridor which passed through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Indian officials, however, declined the possibility of a connection between the two. However, there was a view expressed at the conference about India’s readiness for participation in standalone connectivity projects with China, which were not necessarily connected with the Beijing-led BRI. Both the BCIM and the CPEC predate the formal launch of the BRI.
Certain sections of the CPEC have raised concerns on the Indian side, but these disputes are not the result of the economic corridor and the economic activities in this region are not the direct result of CPEC. China has been providing support to Pakistan in these areas for many, many years. This is a contribution China is making for development of our neighbouring countries.
The BCIM economic corridor is an ambitious undertaking that hopes to connect Kolkata with Kunming, capital of the Yunnan province. It envisages formation of a thriving economic belt, focusing on cross-border transport, energy and telecommunication networks.
Starting from Kunming, the route passes through nodal points, such as Mandalay and Lashio in Myanmar. It heads towards Kolkata after passing through Manipur and Silchar, before crossing Bangladesh via Sylhet and Dhaka, with branches extending to the ports of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong.
Chinese experts in Yunnan say that except for a 200-km stretch between Silchar in Assam and Manipur, and a similar length between Kalewa and Monywah in Myanmar, the central artery of the route is nearly functional.
13-Mar-2019: First shipment under TIR Convention reaches India from Afghanistan via Iran's Chabahar Port
The first shipment from Afghanistan under the TIR Convention through Iran’s Chabahar Port arrived at India’s Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai and Mundra port in Gujarat on Monday.
The TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) is a United Nations Convention that allows goods to be sealed in compartments and requires no need for physical checking of the contents, enabling shipments to pass through countries without being opened at borders.
Welcoming the arrival of the maiden shipment, Pranab Kumar Das, chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, said, “The TIR convention will help in fast and easy movement of goods across multiple countries under a common customs document and guarantee.”
Reciprocal recognition of customs controls is at the heart of the Convention. This enables a facilitative and non-intrusive environment for multi-modal transport of goods through several countries.
The convention will help in boosting India’s exports and enable greater participation in the global value chains. We will leverage technology to make the movement more secure and facilitative. We urge our exporters to use this facilitative system to make our exports more competitive.
TIR will play a pivotal role in improving ease of doing business and pave the way for a smoother and safer transport of goods across international borders and will help boost trade between India, Central Asia, Europe, and Russia. It will act as a strong catalyst for moving goods using the multi-modal transportation route like Chabahar and International North-South Transport (INSTC) Corridor. The system is a win-win-win model for Customs, FICCI, and the business community.
India joined the TIR Convention (the United Nations Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets) on June 15, 2017. Secretary-General of International Road Transport Union (IRU), Umberto Pretto said, “The opening of Chabahar Port for TIR is hugely significant – offering connectivity for landlocked countries, seamless border crossing facilitation and intermodal capabilities."
"It also highlights how TIR has been chosen by these three countries as a key tool to help activate the Chabahar transport agreement. The operation will definitely open the door for activation of other intermodal corridors such as International North-South Transport Corridor–connecting India to Central Asia, Russia and eventually Europe,” said Pretto.
20-Jun-2017: India ratifies United Nations TIR Convention
India has become the 71st country to ratify the United Nations TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention, a move that will help boost trade through smoother movement of goods across territories. The ratification is a part of India’s multi-modal transport strategy that aims to integrate the economy with global and regional production networks through better connectivity.
India’s decision to implement the TIR system will have far reaching benefits for trade and will save significant time and money by streamlining procedures at borders, reducing administration and cutting border waiting times. The TIR Convention will also facilitate India’s current national and multilateral connectivity-related initiatives to improve cross border road transport, facilitating overland trade integration with both eastern and western neighbours. It will also help India in implementing the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which entered into force this year.
6-Mar-2017: Cabinet approves India's accession to the Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for India's accession to the Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) and for completion of necessary procedures for ratification, for its entry into force.
The Convention will help Indian traders to have access to fast, easy, reliable and hassle free international system for movement of goods by road or multi- modal means across the territories of other contracting parties.
By joining the convention, the need for inspection of goods at intermediate borders as well as physical escorts en route shall be obviated due to reciprocal recognition of Customs controls. Customs clearance can take place at internal Customs locations thereby avoiding clearances at Border Crossing Points and ports that may often be congested. Movement under the TIR can be allowed by checking only the seals and the external conditions of the load compartment or the container thereby reducing border delays, transport and transaction costs thereby leading to increased competitiveness and growth for the trade and transport sectors.
Compliance with the Convention shall ensure enhanced security in the supply chain as only approved transporters and vehicles are allowed to operate in terms of the Convention. As the TIR Carnet represents a guarantee for Customs duties and taxes and traffic in transit, there is no need for payment of such taxes and duties en route. The TIR carnet also serves as a Customs declaration, and hence it precludes the need to file multiple declarations satisfying national laws of the different transiting countries. The TIR Convention can be an instrument for movement of goods along the International "North-South" Transport (INSTC) Corridor and would be helpful in boosting trade with the Central Asian Republics and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), particularly using ports in Iran like the Chabahar port.
The proposal does not result in any direct financial implication for the Government of India as it pertains to India's accession to an international convention.
The Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets, 1975 (TIR Convention), is an international transit system under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to facilitate the seamless movement of goods within and amongst the Parties to the Convention. At present there are 70 parties to the Convention, including the European Union.
31-Dec-2018: Establishing Gas Trading Hub/Exchange in the country
It has been agreed to establish the gas trading hub(s)/exchange(s) in the country wherein the natural gas can be freely traded and supplied through a market mechanism. In view of the administrative, legal, operational issues involved, a precise timeframe for operationalizing the gas trading exchange/hub cannot be indicated at this stage.
As per draft National Energy Policy of NITI Aayog, US $ 150 billion capital investment is needed in energy sector on an annual basis until 2040.
In order to develop the national gas grid, Government has taken a decision to provide a capital grant of Rs.5176 crore (i.e. 40% of the estimated capital cost of Rs.12,940 Crore) to GAIL for development of a 2655 Km long Jagdishpur-Haldia/Bokaro-Dhamra Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project. This pipeline will transport Natural Gas to the industrial, commercial, domestic and transport sectors in the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
In order to expand City Gas Network in the state of Jharkhand, PNGRB has authorized Bokaro, Hazaribagh & Ramgarh districts geographical area, Giridih & Dhanbad districts geographical area, Ranchi district and East Singhbhoom district at an average investment of Rs. 400 crore per district during the work plan period.
Oil Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) namely Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) have decided to set up an integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex with a refining capacity of 60 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum) at Babulwadi, Taluka Rajapur in Ratnagiri District in the state of Maharashtra.