Reports

New Opportunities 2021: India plans reforms shielded by robust economic growth
India will rely on targeted supply-side spending to help resurrect the country’s Covid-battered growth. Narendra Modi’s government also hopes to implement critical but long-delayed structural reforms that could become possible if economic recovery is as strong as expected. The plan hinges on a stretch goal: exceeding 14 percent nominal GDP ...


Apple bets on India as an emerging manufacturing power
After several failed attempts to boost its manufacturing sector, the Indian government announced a new production-linked incentive scheme that could turn the country into a phone making hub. Apple and Samsung, among other companies, will now relocate part of their supply chains to make and export high-end mobile phones from ...


Scenarios for the expansion of India’s super apps
Several large global technology firms have pumped billions of dollars of investments into India’s digital economy sector this year. The development reflects a trend toward “super apps” being created in the country, helped along by favorable government policies. The question is whether the market will remain fiercely competitive, or devolve ...


India, a handicapped giant
Faced with China’s emerging hegemony in Asia, India is striving to defend its regional power status. New Delhi’s strategy is to invest in defense, align its policies with the United States and expand its regional alliances. However, it is increasingly concerned with becoming contained by China.


With import ban, Modi seeks more arms made in India
With a new import ban on 101 kinds of weapons, Narendra Modi is continuing his quest to expand India’s domestic arms industry. The lack of arms manufacturing has been a concern since the 1960s, and despite criticisms, the latest efforts are bearing some fruit. But India still has a slow ...


Scenarios for the India-China Himalayan border conflict
As India and China continue to build infrastructure and expand their military forces along the disputed Himalayan borders, the hotspots are becoming hotter and the clashes – more violent. The Asian giants’ old conflict has entered a new phase now that assertive Beijing does not seem to mind a degree ...


India earns worldwide goodwill with its ‘pharma diplomacy’
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, India is leveraging its status as the world leader in generic drug manufacturing to build its image overseas and increase its foreign policy clout. However, if other countries make good on their plans to enhance their domestic medical production capabilities, India’s exports could suffer in the longer ...


India wades carefully into the Western Pacific
Since the 1990s, India has been making its presence in the Western Pacific felt. It has several key partnerships in the region. Most important among these are its ties with the United States, Japan, Singapore and Australia. While it will continue to use these relationships to strengthen its position, especially ...


Relevance beyond the crisis: Scenarios for India’s economy
Before coronavirus hit, New Delhi had an ambitious budget plan for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Today, India’s government has a third of the economy under lockdown and strives to preserve the country’s development momentum. Some powerful factors are working in India’s favor, but others could drag it down.


Leadership Challenges 2020: Modi aims to leave a lasting mark on India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to make an imprint on the economy, ideology and welfare. In all three policy areas, he is facing increasing resistance. Moreover, his long-stated goal of reversing decades of increased central authority seems to have been discarded. Add to this the rising prominence of Hindu ...


How India has managed its relationship with Donald Trump
The burgeoning relationship with the United States is a crucial part of India’s foreign policy. With the election of Donald Trump as president, New Delhi was unsure what to expect. So far, it has leveraged its strategic importance and the leaders’ friendship to its benefit. And while trade remains a ...


India-Europe ties grow closer
The rise of China and the changes in U.S. policy brought by President Donald Trump have presented huge challenges for both Europe and India. Their interests align on some major issues, including international trade and combatting climate change. In the face of Brexit, India has also sought to bolster ties ...


Foreign policy during Modi’s second term
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who currently enjoys high levels of trust among world leaders, wants to make the most of this advantageous situation by simultaneously engaging with the U.S., China and other strategic geopolitical partners, in addition to fostering better relations with smaller South Asian neighbors.


Modi changes India’s Kashmir policy
For decades, India’s posture on the contested state of Jammu and Kashmir has been relatively stable, allowing autonomy in the region and seeking an agreement with Islamabad. Relations with Sunni Kashmiris have increasingly frayed, however, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun to shift its policy radically. India has ended ...


Jammu and Kashmir and Hong Kong: Autonomies violated
The world is rightly concerned about China’s violation of Hong Kong’s autonomy – but such moves are not limited to authoritarian regimes. India, the world’s largest democracy, has recently abolished autonomy for the region of Jammu and Kashmir. The situation there deserves even more attention since the region is at ...


India readies to face Trump’s trade ire
As the U.S.-China trade dispute drags on, Washington is gearing up to turn the screws on another trade partner: India. Though the countries are allies, U.S. officials chafe at India’s protectionist policies. Sorting out this imbroglio will be among the Indian government’s top priorities – an escalatory tariff war could ...


The Kashmir crisis exerts pressure on both the U.S. and China
The conflict over Kashmir has led to three wars and countless skirmishes between India and Pakistan. As tensions are building up again in the region, outside powers cooperate to prevent the worst. However, Washington’s and Beijing’s influence over the decision-making process of the two nuclear weapons-armed states may be gradually ...


India decides on force to break a pointless cycle
The latest round of fighting on the India-Pakistan border reveals a changed mood in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to order an air strike deep inside Pakistan in reprisal for a terrorist attack is evidence of a more muscular policy taking shape. If Mr. Modi is reelected in ...


Potential conflict between Asian giants
The mountainous border between India, China and Pakistan is a dangerously underestimated trouble spot that could wreak havoc between Asia's two emerging superpowers.


2019 Global Outlook: India turns inward
Ahead of parliamentary elections this spring, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reinvented himself. Putting aside earlier economic reforms, his talk is mostly about social welfare. While the Indian leader focuses on wooing small-town voters, his government has put most foreign policy initiatives on hold. Whether Mr. Modi’s ruling BJP wins ...


Modi looks inward on trade
The Indian government has taken a protectionist posture on trade, taking measures to boost domestic manufacturing, hike tariffs and stall trade negotiations. Yet exports have failed to increase, in part because of red tape and poor logistics. The administration’s present attitude could see India struggle with the current account deficit ...


The burgeoning India-Japan partnership
Japan and India are fast becoming close partners. Small wonder: the two countries both want to counteract China's rise, especially in the Indian Ocean. The countries have strengthened economic and military ties, and together could challenge China at sea. As Beijing attempts to project its power ever further, the Indo-Japanese ...


Modi’s economy faces the voters
The Modi government in India enters the last year of its term with mixed economic results. The prime minister has moderated inflation and carried out important reforms, but growth remains slow and many Indians are pessimistic about their financial situation. With elections coming next April and several external threats on ...


Sino-Indian relations after the Wuhan summit
In late April, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an “informal summit” during which they reached a tacit understanding to turn down the heat on their countries’ contentious relationship. Both leaders have many more urgent issues on their plates, and need room to maneuver. But ...
