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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

Paper Towers

The collapse of the Delhi hostel which has left six people dead and several more injured brings into sharp relief the dangerous disconnect between what is sanctioned and what is actually built in Indian cities. The structure was reportedly sanctioned only up to ground-plus-one, yet had grown to five storeys and was being used as a densely occupied student hostel. While the investigation will establish whether the basement alterations, weakened pillars, waterlogging or some other structural...

Paper Towers

The collapse of the Delhi hostel which has left six people dead and several more injured brings into sharp relief the dangerous disconnect between what is sanctioned and what is actually built in Indian cities. The structure was reportedly sanctioned only up to ground-plus-one, yet had grown to five storeys and was being used as a densely occupied student hostel. While the investigation will establish whether the basement alterations, weakened pillars, waterlogging or some other structural failure caused the building to give way, the circumstances already raise a more uncomfortable question: how does a building apparently approved for two floors become a five-storey hostel without the system noticing? Delhi’s student neighbourhoods have developed a voracious market for cheap accommodation, and where demand rises faster than regulated housing, buildings acquire floors, rooms and tenants with remarkable speed. A residential property becomes a paying guest facility; a basement becomes usable space; another floor appears; more beds are squeezed in. The paperwork, if it exists at all, struggles to keep pace with the construction. There is no reason to assume that this is uniquely Delhi’s problem. Pune’s student districts, Bengaluru’s rental corridors, Mumbai’s crowded suburbs and other education and employment hubs face the same pressures. Wherever land is scarce, rents are high and demand for accommodation is relentless, the temptation to build beyond what was sanctioned is immense. The danger is obvious. A building designed for one purpose and a particular structural load cannot indefinitely be treated as a piece of elastic real estate. Adding floors, altering columns, excavating beneath an existing structure or cramming dozens of occupants into a building designed for far fewer people is not renovation. It is gambling with lives. Yet India’s municipal systems too often seem to discover illegal construction only after something has collapsed. The response is then predictable: an FIR, inspections, sealing drives and promises that officials found negligent will be punished. Delhi has already ordered inspections of nearby paying guest accommodations and buildings with fifth floors. Such action is welcome. It is also painfully late. The real test is not how efficiently the authorities clear the rubble. It is whether they can prevent the next building from becoming rubble. The country needs more than inspection drives. It needs municipal bodies capable of knowing what is being built in their jurisdictions, enforcing sanctioned plans before violations become permanent and making officials answerable when obvious breaches are ignored. A city’s housing shortage cannot be solved by allowing unsafe buildings to multiply. Nor can affordable accommodation be secured by making students the unwitting occupants of structural experiments. Satya Niketan has exposed a dangerous gap between the buildings cities need and the buildings their regulations can safely accommodate. If that gap is not closed, the next collapse may simply have a different pin code.

From Diplomacy to Geoeconomics

India and Indonesia are forging a partnership designed for an era defined by resilient manufacturing, critical minerals and digital connectivity.

 The age when bilateral ties were judged by trade volumes and ceremonial diplomacy is fading. Today, the strength of a partnership is increasingly determined by who controls critical minerals, builds trusted digital networks and secures resilient supply chains. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Indonesia captured this new strategic reality. The ambitious economic agreements signed during the visit covering cooperation on critical minerals, industrial cooperation, digital payments, artificial intelligence, education and maritime connectivity, signify a partnership that is expanding well beyond traditional diplomacy.


These are part of the larger transformation of India’s approach to Southeast Asia. Amid the reconfiguration of global supply chains and the Indo-Pacific’s emergence as the centre of economic competition, India is seeking partnerships that strengthen economic security, diversify dependencies, and support its long-term manufacturing and technological ambitions. Against this background, Indonesia is emerging as a crucial partner because of its abundant resources, growing economy, and strategic location. Taken together, the agreements signed during the visit reflect the emergence of a comprehensive geoeconomic partnership with the potential to redefine the trajectory of India–Indonesia economic relations.


Vital Role

Indonesia has a special role in New Delhi’s economic and strategic calculations. As the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the fourth most populous country in the world, it is a major engine of regional growth and a powerful voice within ASEAN. Its importance, however, extends beyond market size as Indonesia’s huge reserves of vital minerals including nickel, a key component in EV batteries, has made it an important player in the global shift to clean energy. Its strategic location, specifically close to the Strait of Malacca, also adds to the importance of Indonesia as a collaborator in maintaining secure and resilient trade connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.


Deeper engagement with Indonesia is in line with multiple national priorities for India. It reinforces the objectives of the Act East Policy, complements the ambitions of Make in India, and supports supply chain diversification efforts amid growing geopolitical and economic uncertainty. As nations look for reliable partners for technology, manufacturing and resource security, Indonesia offers India an opportunity to build a partnership that extends beyond its longstanding trade and investment collaboration. The agreements signed during the visit should be viewed not as isolated sectoral initiatives but as the building blocks of a larger geoeconomic partnership.


Industrial Cooperation

Cooperation on critical minerals and industrial development forms the cornerstone of the new economic partnership between India and Indonesia. As countries race to secure the raw materials required to produce electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and advanced manufacturing, critical minerals have assumed a strategic importance comparable to that of oil. Indonesia, which is home to some of the world’s largest nickel reserves, occupies a pivotal position in global battery supply chains. For India, whose clean energy transition and manufacturing targets depend on reliable access to such materials, engagement with Indonesia promises to bolster long-term supply chain resilience.


Yet the significance of the partnership extends beyond resource security. The agreements on industrial cooperation and steel production reflect a shared desire to move up the value chain, rather than remain confined to exporting raw materials or importing finished goods. This aligns with India’s broader objective of expanding domestic manufacturing under the Make in India campaign while capturing a greater share of regional production networks. By combining Indonesia’s resource endowments with the burgeoning industrial capabilities of India, this partnership has the potential to foster more resilient and diversified value chains while reducing vulnerabilities in an increasingly fragmented global economy.


Digital Partnership

Beyond critical minerals and manufacturing, the agreements also highlight India’s growing emphasis on digital and technological cooperation as a pillar of economic diplomacy. Cooperation in digital payments, artificial intelligence, and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) reflects a mutual recognition that technological innovation will increasingly shape economic competitiveness. India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), now recognised as one of the world’s leading digital payment platforms, offers Indonesia an opportunity to strengthen financial inclusion, improve the efficiency of its digital economy, and facilitate greater cross-border economic integration.


This partnership also reflects India’s ambition to position its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a global public good that countries around the world can adopt and replicate as a model of governance. Instead of limiting economic engagement to trade and investment, India is increasingly leveraging its technological capabilities to deepen institutional and commercial ties with partner countries. Such cooperation will help Indonesia accelerate its digital transformation, while for India, it reinforces its position as a provider of scalable, low-cost digital solutions across the Global South. Collectively, these initiatives expand bilateral co-operation beyond traditional sectors into the knowledge economy.


By prioritising critical minerals, industrial cooperation, digital public infrastructure, and technological collaboration, the two countries are laying the foundations of a broader economic partnership that reflects the realities of an increasingly interconnected, yet fragmented, global economy. For India, the partnership advances its broader geoeconomic objectives of building resilient supply chains, strengthening manufacturing capabilities, and deepening its engagement with Southeast Asia. For Indonesia, it offers an opportunity to diversify its economic partnerships, accelerate digital transformation, and move further up the industrial value chain. However, the true measure of success will lie in its implementation. If these agreements are translated into sustained investments, stronger institutional cooperation, and deeper commercial engagement, they have the potential to redefine India–Indonesia relations and emerge as a key pillar of economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.


(The writer is an economics postgraduate from Jawaharlal Nehru University with research interests in economic policy, trade and global governance. Views personal.)

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