India must seize global supply chain disruption as opportunity: Amitabh Kant

Former Niti Aayog CEO and India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday that while geopolitical instability has fractured global trade, India must capitalize on this "vacuum" to accelerate clean-tech manufacturing and economic growth. Addressing the Centre for Science and Environment's annual Anil Agarwal Dialogue here, he said India has the potential to dominate sectors like battery manufacturing, electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler production, and other sustainable industries.

"You have a war going on for over 1,000 days in the heart of Europe. So, the period of stability which was created after World War Two has come to an end. And you have a breakdown of global supply chains across the world," Kant said.

"But whatever is happening, I personally am of the view that this is a huge, huge opportunity for India, because there is a vacuum," he said.


He said that when Donald Trump exited the Paris Agreement (for the first time in 2016), China stepped up and now controls 80 per cent of the world's critical minerals.

A similar vacuum is emerging, and India must take the lead in clean-tech manufacturing, Kant said.

"It's a huge opportunity for India to do battery manufacturing. If you do not do this, we will become a colony importing goods from China and our imports in all these clean tech manufacturing will become huge, much more than what we do in terms of oil," he cautioned.

Kant also expressed concern over the poor state of municipal governance in Indian cities, which he said has exacerbated pollution and mismanagement.

"If 42 of the cities in India are amongst the 50 worst polluting cities in the world, then there is a huge failure of municipal governance. It has nothing to do with finance. It has nothing to do with the central government," he asserted.

Kant also said that water and electricity in India should be priced properly to prevent wastage.

"I entirely agree that water needs to be priced because India, with 17 per cent of the world's population, has just 4 per cent of water. Secondly, 90 per cent of water is being consumed by agriculture. That means rice and sugar cane is consuming all your water. And we are actually exporting virtual water in the name of basmati rice," he said.

He added that free electricity has encouraged excessive groundwater extraction.

Those who consume less should pay less, and those who use more must pay significantly more. This is how Singapore transformed itself, Kant said, citing its shift from a per capita income of USD 600 in 1965 to USD 90,000 today through governance and economic reforms.