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.
In their quest for a free and open Indo-Pacific, India and Japan will continue to make joint efforts to enhance connectivity, especially in India's northeast and Bangladesh, to cope with various challenges the region faces, Japanese Ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki said
Do the Trees, I often wonder
Wandering is never a bad thing
The idea to hold the Combined Commanders’ Conference (CCC) at Kevadia, Gujarat is packed with a significance which strikes those aware of India’s post-Independence history, which was swept under the carpet
The Quad meeting of leaders on March 12, 2021 has sprung a surprise. From what it has been earlier called - a 'four-member grouping', 'a loose coalition', an Asian NATO and even 'a security dialogue', the Quad has evolved into a robust construct after last week's meeting
‘Tell me what is beautiful, Mother
Proposed talks on free trade agreement (FTA) between New Delhi and Washington is set to gather steam in the coming months as the Quad or the Quadrilateral group, which held its much-awaited meeting on Friday, indicated that the focus of the member countries, India, the US, Japan and Australia, will encompass economic co-operation besides strengthening security ties
Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago - like in many other countries in the Caribbean - celebrated Maha Shivaratri, an annual festival organized in honour of Lord Shiva, one of the Hindu Trinity, with great gusto
There are many in the western world and many in India who are expressing doubts about India continuing as a democracy
Roses in bloom, Daffodils besides
March 14 is the birth anniversary of Albert Einstein. He has been one of my heroes and I have been inspired by his work and his life. So I thought of paying him a small tribute
Words that flow from a gentle heart
The grave impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have been so humongous that it has caused massive human sufferings across the globe
While celebrating International Women's Day, it is worth pondering over India's historic contribution in pioneering women's empowerment that has its beginnings in the early 19th Century
In its Plenary held on February 22, 24, 25, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to retain Pakistan in its listing of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring – the ‘grey list’ – along with 18 other countries
