Reports

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 ...

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 ...

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.

The recent skirmishes along the Indo-Chinese borders are part of a larger regional conflict driven by Beijing’s desire to establish its dominance throughout Asia. Because so many crucial geostrategic points are located across the Himalayas – including access to several major waterways – military tension is bound to escalate.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. 

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 is forging profitable new partnerships with Sunni Arab states as its economic profile grows and its ties with the U.S. and Israel strengthen. The changes are causing tension with its old ally Iran, however, which New Delhi still needs to keep Pakistan in check. This balancing act will only ...

The Asia-Pacific region is seeking a balance of economic and geopolitical benefits with two overlapping trade agreements. Across both sides of the Pacific, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership replaces the defunct TPP agreement after the withdrawal of the United States. Meanwhile, in Asia, the ten ASEAN member ...

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 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 ...

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

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 ...

China’s rise as an economic and military colossus has transformed the geopolitics of East Asia. Its most powerful neighbor, Japan, has embarked on a more self-reliant course, even as it continues to lean heavily on its alliance with the United States. Tokyo is expanding its contacts, both economic and strategic, ...

India has long warned of the strategic dangers posed by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Today, more and more countries are voicing their suspicions about the BRI’s potential effects. The project also faces difficulties due to financial problems within China. Beijing seems to be recasting the BRI as a ...

Pressure is building in relations between the U.S. and China, especially after the recent APEC summit. However, the heightened rhetoric used there could give both countries a chance to climb down and come to a deal. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will have a perfect opportunity to do so ...