Don’t play with Trees
Apart from the changing geopolitical dynamics, economic factors further reinforce the China-oriented dimension of the policy shift. China is India’s second largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $127.7 billion in FY 2024-2025, and this figure continues to grow. This trade growth however is marked by a significant imbalance, with India’s trade deficit with China widening by about 17% to $99.2 billion from $85.07% in the same FY.
What emerges from this moment is not a singular crisis but a layered one, shaped by global disruptions, local cost pressures, and structural vulnerabilities. Workers are leaving Delhi not because the city has stopped offering work, but because it has become increasingly difficult to live sustainably in the capital city while working.
It is high time South Asian countries not only pass stricter environmental regulations but also strictly enforce them, making sure that there is no factory releasing waste water without adequate treatment. Besides, upholding legally binding labour standards must also be a priority together with ensuring safety of the workplace environment.
The Korean noodle story is not really about noodles. It is about what happens when cultural influence travels faster than commercial infrastructure and faster than regulatory awareness. India's Gen Z - and possibly that of other South Asian countries - did not wait for brands to tell them what to eat. They watched K-dramas, did spice challenges, and built market demand that brands, regulators, and consumer education campaigns have simply not kept up with.
Don’t play with Trees
We meet at a momentous time, not just for the people of Afghanistan but also for our wider region
We undersigned citizens of Nepal are proud of the Myanmar people’s valorous stand for democracy, appalled by the murderous suppression by the Tatmadaw military, and distressed by the lack of adequate response from the governments of South Asia and globally
At the invitation of Prime Minister of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, H.E. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, H.E. Shri Narendra Modi, paid a State Visit to Bangladesh from 26 to 27 March 2021 to join the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh, the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has thought it fit to pass a resolution by majority vote against Sri Lanka for what the resolution termed as a human rights violation
H.P. Ghosh Research Centre, a unit of Bandhan-Konnagar, hosted the Kolkata-Dhaka Dialogue, with the support of India's Ministry of External Affairs
The Indian Coffee House in Kolkata’s College Street has been a favourite haunt for the student community and intellectuals for ages
The Economic Survey is the flagship annual document which we all look forward to. In the recent past, it has lived up to the expectation of being an indispensable guide on performance, challenges and prospects of the Indian economy
Unlike flowers that have a name
In late 1977, I was walking through a thick pine-grove in Gainesville, Florida, the USA when suddenly a thought came out of the blue that gravity and human thought may be related
The importance attached by the US to the Indo-Pacific places India in an advantageous position, both in defence and economic sectors
Nothing but ever lasts, friends
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have tremendous implications for India and Bangladesh because both nations are in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi is slated to travel to Bangladesh on 26 March for what will be his second visit as PM to the neighbouring country
There is no smoke without a fire