One of the most striking features of South Asian trade is how little the region trades internally. Intra-regional trade within South Asia remains among the lowest in the world relative to geographic proximity. Political tensions — especially between India and Pakistan — have prevented the emergence of a deeply integrated regional production system comparable to ASEAN or the European Union. This is a major missed opportunity.
Scarcity of cooking fuel is pushing people, particularly across South Asia, toward hunger. Livelihoods have been lost among the large unorganised labour force while thousands of self-employed street vendors, smaller restaurants and eateries are being forced to close shop, facing a scary, insecure future. For middle class households across India, everyday snacks like the samosa or dosa have become scarce because of shortage and high prices of cooking gas cylinders.
India is one of the world’s largest suppliers of generic medicines and APIs to Europe. If the EU begins favouring “Made in EU” pharmaceutical production through procurement preferences, subsidies or state aid, Indian drug manufacturers could face reduced access to EU public procurement contracts and tougher supply-chain resilience requirements.
India’s pharma export market has been affected as India supplies medicines to more than 200 countries. Supply chain interruption not only hurts Indian producers but also creates medicine scarcity in the US, UK, and African markets that highly depend on Indian generics. From the logistics end, re-routing of cargo away from conflict-ridden corridors such as the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz has increased freight insurance premiums, distressing Indian exporters who function on lean cost structures.
A multilateral maritime engagement with African countries, AIKEYME, is an initiative to enhance interoperability with the region's navies. The maiden edition of the six-day exercise being co-hosted by Indian Navy and Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force (TPDF) will be conducted off Dar-es-Salaam in mid-April 2025 and will include participation from Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa.
Although much has been said and perceived about China’s growing military competition in closing the power gap, this move to unveil the ruthless and fearful F-47 and the other assets is meant to checkmate Beijing’s ambitions in the Indo Pacific and demoralise other enemies who still doubt America’s long-term military and economic resilience.
The elephant is not just an animal, it is a symbol of power, royalty, and diplomacy in the pages of history. Myanmar’s gift of six elephants to Russia is not just a simple gift, but an important strategic move in regional and global politics.
Beijing - and therefore Xi - by virtue of his being in complete control of all affairs in the country have long been known to be determined to pick their own successor to the Dalai Lama, a portent that is profoundly troubling for some six million Tibetans inside Tibet and over 100,000 in exile outside, mainly in India.
Providing the ASHA workers employment would have a multiplier effect, especially through their empowerment. Imagine the extraordinary impact if a collaborative project, supported by both the Australian and Indian governments, were to train one million ASHA workers in India, using the online platform! It would be a true reflection of partnership and an unparalleled public diplomacy initiative.
Mao's Cultural Revolution reverberations were largely contained within then 'Third World' China, causing only stray ideological ripples across its borders. In contrast, Trump's actions challenge the underpinnings of the post-war political, economic and social global architecture in a highly interdependent world.
Some speculate that Bangladesh’s pivot toward China, which has invested $23 billion in the country, may have influenced US policies towards Bangladesh. With China among Bangladesh’s key stakeholders, geopolitical considerations will play a significant role in Bangladesh’s energy security treaty negotiations with the US.
Sri Lankan missions abroad have been instructed not to attend any official functions of Taiwanese missions that operate as cultural, economic or educational offices or meetings attended by the Dalai Lama. However, until last year, several leading Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka had participated in religious functions and conferences together with the Dalai Lama
The 12th edition of Ex Milan, held in February 2024 at Visakhapatnam, in southern India, involved the largest-ever participation, featuring the navies of over 50 countries and nearly 20 ships.
It was against this backdrop that the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Sri Lanka engaged with the fisherfolk communities in Northern Sri Lanka. During then Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda’s visit to China—which coincided with the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—China pledged Rs. 1.5 billion (Sri Lankan rupees) to bolster the fisheries sector in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
The world, including the USA, too can’t suppress or coerce China militarily or with sanctions and tariffs. The raw fact is that China unilaterally dominates the world supply chain. To be counted, India needs to step up and become relevant in this supply chain
Fulfilling vital strategic/security imperatives for rapid military deployment against China and Pakistan and enhancing regional connectivity for the benefit of people of many border states, the distribution of the 75 projects is - 19 in Jammu & Kashmir, 11 in Ladakh, 18 in Arunachal Pradesh, 9 in Uttarakhand, 6 in Sikkim, 5 in Himachal Pradesh, 2 each in West Bengal and Rajasthan and one each in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Observers speculate that a key focus of discussions in Beijing will be the purported ban on Chinese “research vessels” entering Sri Lankan ports that India wants. During his visit to New Delhi, President Dissanayake promised that not an inch of Sri Lankan territory would be given for any activity that could be considered inimical to India.
The difference between the Chinese and Indian approaches is stark. While China is engaged in a frenzied military modernisation, the Indian defence establishment is absorbed in building statues, replacing iconic paintings and seeking mythological solutions to its current and future threats. Indian defence capability development has languished for too long. It needs to be in ‘mission mode’ in 2025.
One very significant development which the media seems to have missed is that on 2 September 2024, Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, one of India's largest business conglomerates, established a subsidiary in Shanghai called Adani Energy Resources (Shanghai) Co. (AERCL).
