The Adani Group has been making big news for the wrong reasons. Hindenburg Research’s report accusing the group of “the largest con in corporate history” sent Adani stocks plummeting, wiping well over USD 100 billion off the group’s valuation even as the conglomerate denied doing any wrong. Suddenly Adani is facing extra scrutiny from investors, governments and the media – but activists who had long alleged malpractice in Adani projects in India and across the region, as well as journalists who earlier exposed the group’s questionable practices, are left to wonder what took so long.

The world’s focus has mostly been on India, but the Adani Group’s vast footprint has left marks across much of the rest of Southasia too. In Bangladesh, pressure is building for the government to reconsider a power deal with Adani that may not be in the country’s best interests. In Sri Lanka, like in Bangladesh, there are questions over what role the Indian government played in securing ongoing Adani projects. In Myanmar, following the 2021 coup, there has been scant attention to how Adani has continued with controversial projects under the rule of the unelected military government. And in India, there are the perennial questions over Gautam Adani’s closeness to Narendra Modi, and allegations of special treatment for his business house.

In our latest edition of Southasian Conversation, recorded on 11 April 2023, we look at the long reach of the Adani Group – from energy to transport and logistics, from India to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and Myanmar – to draw attention to the conglomerate’s record in Southasia, and to ask not just what it says about the Adani Group itself but also about power, politics and diplomacy in the region.

Panelists:

* Ravi Nair – Investigative journalist

* Zia Hassan – Economist and political commentator

* Rawan Arraf – Executive Director, Australian Centre for International Justice

* Rathindra Kuruwita – Journalist and researcher

Moderator:

* Roman Gautam – Editor, Himal Southasian