Search

India and Canada’s relationship is yet to develop to its full potential. This paper examines the ideological and strategic divergences between India and Canada that have shaped their bilateral engagement over the years. It argues how diaspora politics and the presence of Khalistan sympathisers in Canada has affected New Delhi’s interest in seeking a broader relationship with Ottawa. The paper points to the potential of economic relations that

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, India established official ties with the five former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; so did China. In recent years, both India and China have come up with different strategies to strengthen their respective ties with these resource-rich economies, collectively called the Central Asian Republics (CARs). China’s strategy is the ambitious Belt and Roa

Britain's former Chief Scientific Advisor and Head of the Government Office of Science, Sir David King, has said that both India and China should take a leadership role at the global platform for Climate Change.

The Doklam crisis of 2017 illustrates the increasing tension in India and China’s nuclear relationship. There are elements of stability and instability in such relationship, and this brief examines them. Stability, on one hand, is derived from a history of military and political restraint, ongoing institutionalised negotiations, and growing economic relations. However, the continuing border dispute and disagreement on a non-demarcated Line of A

As Sino-Indian enmity in the maritime domain intensifies, the relationship between space assets and maritime capabilities in this constantly evolving rivalry remains understudied. This paper fills the gap with a comparative analysis that brings to the fore the importance of space sensors in the conduct of naval operations for both India and China. Equally relevant to this competition is the relationship between space assets and the nature of the

This Issue Brief focuses on the reasons for the need to have sub-regional integration and cooperation between the four South Asian countries of BBIN--Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. It also looks at previous attempts made at sub-regional cooperation by countries in the region and the areas of potential cooperation.

India and South America have barely managed to maintain minimal bilateral ties for the last several decades. Absent strong ties in geography, what India and South America have instead is a shared post-colonial history. Colonised by European powers for several centuries, both began their journey as independent countries under conditions of underdevelopment and having inexperienced polities with a limited foreign policy agenda. Today, it is not onl

Neighbours India and Nepal, who share an open border, have not always had the most amicable of relations, oscillating from one extreme to the other. One of their long-standing disputes is over the border area of Kalapani. This discord has the potential to disrupt the other aspects of their ties, especially in the domains of the economy and cross-border security. Further, if the two countries fail to arrive at a resolution to the disagreement, it

Re-kindling “the special and privileged nature” of the strategic partnership of India and Russia at BRICS

Saudi Arabia and India recently signed a defence cooperation agreement, signalling a shift in ties. This issue brief looks at the importance of Indo-Saudi relations from a geopolitical perspective, outlines the trajectory of their bilateral defence partnership, and emphasises the symbiotic nature of their relations and the increasing scope for greater cooperation.

This brief reviews the crucial role of India in global climate politics and highlights the country’s partnerships on sustainable energy in Africa through the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA). The brief finds that, beyond contributing to climate change mitigation, India—through ISA, in particular—is helping ensure energy security and sustainable livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa by providing poor communities access to natural, ec

Worsening climate change will have impacts on global politics, creating new vulnerabilities as well as opportunities. India, given its emerging power status and high vulnerability to climate impacts, holds a key position in global climate action. This brief looks at the ways in which India has used climate policies to gain leverage. India has sought to incorporate the geostrategic uses of climate change into a wider shift in its foreign policy, i

India and the United States (US) have been cooperating in the health sector since the late 1960s. The cooperation has intensified in the past decade, riding on institutional structures established following the launch of the US-India Health Initiative in 2010. It has seen further expansion since the COVID-19 pandemic, and today covers a wide range of areas including disease prevention and combating infectious diseases, maternal and child

This primer offers a comprehensive overview of the current state of the India-United Kingdom (UK) bilateral relationship. It describes India-UK cooperation in the key policy areas of trade and investment, security and defence, technology and innovation, and migration and people-to-people ties. The paper also explores the divergences and tensions in this multifaceted partnership while forecasting a bright future for the bilateral.

India is on its way to becoming “the Saudi Arabia of data”. This brief argues that India enjoys unmatched advantages of demography, economy, and geography and could be a hub of the submarine cable network that would facilitate the transport of data across the Indian Ocean. India’s public and private sectors should leverage these advantages to push the country to the centrestage of connectivity across the region and beyond. India’s

India has historically taken a neutral position in the disputes along the South China Sea involving China and countries of Southeast Asia, even as the tensions have threatened the security in the region. In more recent times, however, there has been a noticeable change in India’s stance. This brief ponders this shift: the rationale behind India’s responses vis-à-vis the disputes, and their implications on the country’s ‘Act East’ and

From Europe, India is viewed as a balancing power in terms of the economy and global harmony, according to Dr. Medgyessy, former Prime Minister of Hungary. He says India is ideologically closer to Europe and the US than the other BRICS countries.

India’s engagement in the Arctic has evolved from a primarily scientific focus to one increasingly shaped by geopolitical and strategic considerations. However, this shift highlights an inconsistency in India’s strategic decision-making: while New Delhi seeks to help shape a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific by working with like-minded democracies, its Arctic strategy remains largely anchored in cooperation with Russia, whose actions in U

The global shortage in semiconductors that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, resulted in heavy losses for many economic sectors. The fragility of the supply chain and the innate dependencies within, have made semiconductor collaboration essential to maintain the industry’s efficiency. This brief examines how semiconductors have become a fulcrum for building potential technology alliances. It outlines ongoing diplomatic initiatives

This brief seeks to apply ancient Indian strategic thought in the study of the country’s contemporary maritime relations. It argues that India should shift its maritime strategy from a largely continental posture to one that focuses on the country’s maritime mandala. Using concepts from the ancient Indian political treatise, Arthashastra, this brief contends that a “return of history” via the Indo-Pacific, and re-emerging multipolarity, r

Around the world, nuclear energy has taken a back seat because of the risks that reactors bring with them.

Worse, by attacking the social fabric of the country, the Hindutva groups are laying the ground for greater insecurity in the future.

In Modi’s second term, India needs to be pragmatic and clear-eyed about the challenge that Beijing poses for its interests.

India, which has experienced a 4.6 per cent growth rate in 2013-14, requires higher public spending on infrastructure. More public services and goods are needed to bring relief to the lower income groups, especially health services, otherwise they are likely to slip into poverty.

India’s tepid response to the PGII seems odd given Delhi’s opposition to the BRI, which the new G-7 initiative seeks to counter.

China’s domestic debates throw light on issues behind the LAC crisis and also hold a lesson for India — to recognise and leverage its increasing strategic value to China

India has to deftly navigate the TPP waters by making sure it does not isolate itself by staying out of the picture for too long. At the same time, actively committing to the TPP will be hard. India should pursue an incremental process, where it initially joins the discussions and then determines how well it is placed to enter as a member. India could bring much needed flexibility to the TPP and use it to boost its own ties with United States.

Like several other countries in the Indo-Pacific, India is also hardening its policy posture vis-à-vis China.

Both Tokyo and New Delhi want to create a stabler Asian order by redefining partnerships in the region. Can India and Japan take the lead in this regard and form a concert of nations that would bring about balance of power in the Asia-Pacific?

Since the 2000s, the security situation around Japan has changed as China has escalated its activities in the Indo-Pacific area. As such, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) has an important role to play in the resolution of this issue. This brief seeks to understand the features of China's territorial expansion, how the Quad can respond to this situation, and what issues it should anticipate in the future.

India and Southeast Asia share a long cultural history, which over the years has helped shape economic and commercial relations between them. This partnership garnered an impetus following the launch of India’s ‘Look East Policy’ in the early 1990s, rechristened ‘Act East’ in 2015. This brief analyses the trade and investment relations between India and the member states of ASEAN. It highlights the various challenges in the relationship

India-ASEAN relations have traversed a long, dynamic path interspersed with multiple achievements to reach the year 2017, when the two are celebrating 25 years of their partnership. India and ASEAN uphold each other’s centrality in shaping the evolving regional architecture. In pursuit of this objective, India’s ‘Look East’ policy had morphed into ‘Act East’ by 2014. Common concerns and aspirations bind the ASEAN countries and India a

This brief analyses the efforts of India and Bangladesh to strengthen their defence cooperation, in the context of the series of agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in April 2017. Some quarters in both countries are sceptical about the agreements, citing the ineffectual Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace—often referred to as a ‘defenc

This Issue Brief seeks to highlight key issues which the Narendra Modi government should prioritise in its relations with Bangladesh. It also suggests some additional steps that can be taken to strengthen relations between the two countries.

This brief offers a way to rethink the ongoing dispute between India and Bangladesh over the former’s plan to build a high dam on River Barak (known as Surma-Kushiyara and Meghna in Bangladesh) at Tipaimukh in the state of Manipur. It identifies the origins of different sources of water for Bangladesh’s Haor, the region that is widely feared to be under threat by India’s planned dam. The brief recommends the conduct of a comprehensive study

There have been several changes in the political landscape in the geography of Central Asia — with the entry of China as a major player in funding infrastructure projects in the region, and the weakening influence of USA in the markets, along with the independence from Soviet Union.

From the SCO and BRICS to the United Nations, the ongoing rivalry between India and China has expanded beyond their borders, posing new challenges

As the Indo-Pacific region takes centrestage in international affairs, various stakeholder countries are engaging in different forms of economic and strategic cooperation. While such cooperation is implemented largely through bilateral or multilateral forums, certain countries are partnering to promote infrastructure connectivity in third countries across the region. This brief explores one such partnership that holds promise—that of Indi

Since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the Indian prime minister and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, have been instrumental in what has been the most dramatic leap forward in India-Japan bilateral relations. While the two countries have made strides in strengthening cooperation in recent years, there are limitations that need to be overcome. This brief examines the challenges that remain in the relationship, including their sub-par bila

The Kartarpur corridor, inaugurated in November 2019, is regarded as an important peacemaking measure between India and Pakistan. Various international organisations have welcomed the corridor, including the United Nations. Drawing from history, this brief argues that opening a pilgrimage corridor or renovating a place of worship, and other such attempts to bridge India and Pakistan using religious sentiment inevitably fail to address the deep-ro

Despite the kind words, emergency cooperation, and the defence relationship, there are longer term difficulties in the India-Russia relationship that are unlikely to be easy to resolve.

The India-Russia military technical relationship has withstood the test of time. Despite strains since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relationship has remained highly critical both in terms of the level of trust between the two states and the imperatives of sustaining a military-technical relationship to counter the growth of Chinese power. A more synergistic military-technical is possible, and Moscow and New Delhi must explore ways to con

Economic ties between India and Russia have remained the weakest link in their bilateral relationship since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both countries have set out to correct this in the past two years, making efforts to diversify their relationship beyond the defence and energy sectors as they navigate a changing world order. This brief analyses the developments in India-Russia relations since the May 2018 Sochi informal summit and the 201