One million engineers a year
«Let’s take this into account – explains the historian and economist Adriana Castagnoli, member of the scientific committee of the Festival – that India produces one million engineers a year and developing the technological sectors becomes crucial. The agreement with the United States to strengthen the semiconductor and high performance computer industry goes in this direction. Added to this are other agreements in the defense sector. However, these are always not “exclusive” choices, taking into account, for example, that even today the country’s first arms supplier is still Russia”.
It’s Italy? For us, India represents the 28th foreign destination market for goods, while for New Delhi we are the 25th supplier: not exactly leadership positions. If the situation has improved in terms of trade (15 billion in 2022, 50% above pre-Covid levels), the possibilities for development are considered even wider.
«By integrating the different production systems – explains the ambassador Vincent deLuca – I believe there is a very large potential and different needs can combine. I am thinking, for example, of the hunger for connectivity, or of the need for decarbonisation, which for the next 50 years will be the most important challenge for the country. And if we look at storage technologies, hydrogen, renewables, we see how Italy and the whole of Europe can take advantage of favorable scenario conditions».
Framework – adds de Luca – which in the past for Italy was made more complex by the difficult and lengthy negotiations for the release of the two Marines, as well as by the impasse created by the judicial initiatives on Finmeccanica orders, nodes that have now been resolved.
Privileged internal production
Among the obstacles, here as elsewhere, there is the Government’s choice to favor domestic production (the Make in India plan launched by Prime Minister Modi) but this does not exclude the possibility of taking advantage of some opportunities.