Modi's triangle of geopolitics, Viksit Bharat and net zero

LIFE IS AN intriguing web of patterns, a mix of squares, triangle, and circles. These patterns help us understand human emotions, life with clarity and purpose.

- JAYA DUBEY

While reading about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's February 2025 visit to the US and France, a powerful idea struck me — can a triangle be imagined for concepts employed by him to balance various competing forces (geopolitics, Viksit Bharat, and net zero) and be at the same time understood by a common person? Yes, it is possible, and that's how the idea of the 'Mod Angle' was born — A triangle's vertices to denote the competing force, sides to denote the interaction between them. Which is well balanced.

This visit had marked a significant shift towards reshaping the earlier unbalanced triangle (geopolitics, Viksit Bharat, and net zero) into a balanced 'Mod Angle', unlocking opportunities for India to pursue net-zero goals without pressure, aligning growth with sustainability and achieving a state of equilibrium as in 'Mod Angle' through his masterful geopolitics, exploiting Trump's scepticism for climate change theories. The transformation can be understood with the following points:

Geopolitics of emissions The global north, under the Obama administration, put moral pressure on India and other developing nations to meet the stringent norms under the Paris Agreement 2015. However, they overlooked critical factors such as low per capita emissions (in 2022, India's per capita CO2 emissions were around 2 tonnes, less than half the global average of 4.7 tonnes), a large population, and late industrialisation. India argues that developed nations with higher historical emissions must lead mitigation under the common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) principle. These international arguments lead to strained geopolitical issues and impede the development goals of a growing economy like India.