After Munich, Rubio travelled to Budapest and aligned himself warmly with Orbán’s government, praising Hungary’s trajectory. For European leaders committed to participatory democracy and the rule of law, the signal must have been disquieting. It suggested that Washington’s conception of Western solidarity may prioritise cultural homogeneity over liberal pluralism.
The structural transformation of India’s export basket is no longer incremental—it is systemic. Technology-driven industries with higher value addition are steadily outpacing traditional sectors. If managed strategically, external tariff pressures could accelerate this transition. Rather than viewing tariff hikes solely as a threat, India can leverage them as a catalyst for deeper integration into global supply chains and stronger positioning in high-technology manufacturing. The reshaping of India’s export architecture is already underway. The tariff shock may simply fast-forward the process.
Considering the potential of AI in solving complex questions and generating contents in individual writing styles, institutions need to ask a few fundamental questions - what is the role of academia in ensuring that the learners are not being slaves to AI, but masters who are aware of the potential bias and hallucinations that has a huge impact on knowledge acquisition and dissemination? Should it be a social responsibility of higher educational institutions to ensure meaningful curriculum and assessment practices which make learners future ready in such a rapidly changing AI era?
Recent global adoption indices confirms that South Asia has become one of the most dynamic regions for cryptocurrency engagement, with implications for remittance use. According to the 2025 crypto adoption index by Chainalysis, India secured the top position worldwide in overall crypto adoption across retail usage, reflecting pervasive grassroots digital activity. Pakistan and Bangladesh also feature prominently, with Pakistan ranking among top three in Asia and Bangladesh within top 20
The reshuffling of the deck internationally is taking place, and it will be interesting to watch it play out, and especially how India, and other South Asian countries, maneuver through the geostrategic maze, writes Lt Gen P R Kumar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India must try and upgrade its ties with Sri Lanka to the level of strategic partnership, writes Pranay Kumar Shome for South Asia Monitor
During the last 25 years both these so-called high constitutional offices have repeatedly come under judicial scrutiny and invited adverse comments from the Indian courts, writes Vinod Aggarwal for South Asia Monitor
More Gulf States inking peace with Israel will upset Chinese plans to upstage Saudi Arabia’s position in the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and replace it with Turkey, using Pakistan as the handle, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
What the Indian government has put forward is a grand vision and policy framework. It reflects the government’s aspirations as to where it would like to see learning, education, teaching, and research, writes Amit Dasgupta for South Asia Monitor
The non-compliance of court orders would not only lower the public confidence on the judiciary in Nepal, but it will also pose threats to judicial credibility and rule of law, writes Jivesh Jha for South Asia Monitor
South Asian nations would see a bilateral advantage in establishing trade and economic relationships with each other and the formal association of economic cooperation - SAARC- which they have set up would gain strength by giving each other more trade access and tariff concessions to their goods and services, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
It is clear that in the subcontinent, colonialism is a convenient bogey for the anti-English lobby, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
For the kind of person she has shown to be in the little time she has shot into prominence, Senator Harris will be a leader in her own right pushing for the national interests of America, not of any other country, writes Dr. Sridhar Krishnaswami for South Asia Monitor
In the pandemic period while the Pakistan government is providing temporary relief to many sectors in the country why is this key area of agriculture being ignored, writes Muhammad Abbas Khaskheli for South Asia Monitor
While Pacific and South China Sea are important, the Indian Ocean remains fundamental for India, writes Lt. Gen (Dr) Yash Malhotra (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India has major power ambitions. A strong strategic culture must be developed to guide India to fulfill such ambitions, writes Aneek Chatterjee for South Asia Monitor
The Rajapaksas have entertained several projects with Chinese support and money, which is bound to cost Sri Lanka its sovereignty dearly in the coming years, if corrective steps are not taken, writes N.S.Venkataraman for South Asia Monitor
It is high time the Chinese political and military leadership are made to realise that chronic hegemonism and doggedness in constantly trying to crawl and clutch Indian territories are not going to work anymore and that the LAC must be clarified, writes Anil Bhat for South Asia Monitor
For India, however, questions arise whether the RIC fits New Delhi’s objectives as it increases its strategic engagement with the United States, Japan, and Australia which goes against the RIC’s objective to undermine a growing American presence in the Indo-Pacific, writes Shantanu Roy-Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
