For India, the failure is particularly significant as its presidency was an opportunity to translate “strategic autonomy”, the current buzzword in foreign policy circles, into multilateral leadership. True, its response is shaped by structural constraints. The country imports more than 85% of its crude oil, much of it from West Asia and Russia. Some nine million of its citizens live in the Gulf. The United States is its largest trading partner. Iran anchors the Chabahar port project and India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Each relationship is too consequential to risk.
A key consideration for Delhi is Bhutan’s occasional denial or downplay of any Chinese encroachment on its territory, even when satellite data suggests otherwise. This is coupled with a growing perception within Bhutan that India is preventing it from completing its border negotiations with China. Although Thimphu remains closely aligned with Delhi, there is growing interest in expanding its engagement with China.
For India, the opportunity is significant as its robust digital infrastructure and large demographic dividend can create a significant opportunity for adoption and deployment of Artificial Intelligence across sectors, particularly in the care economy. There is an ample room for the development of age-friendly products and services using AI innovation which are of scalable commercial value.
South Asia's higher education ecosystem — with over 1,500 universities and 60 million enrolled learners — is uniquely positioned to absorb and scale new models: work-integrated degrees, on-demand micro-credentials, lifelong learning. The Global South — Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East — shares the same structural challenges. The solutions that work at scale in India, Bangladesh or Nepal will travel naturally to these geographies.
Nepal’s participation in bilateral infrastructure projects with China exemplifies its aspiration for mutual economic growth. Yet its decision to distance itself from the GSI indicates its commitment to remain neutral, given its deep-rooted ties with India.
The talent pool that exists in the BIMSTEC - in countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Thailand - can be channelized across areas of data analytics, underwater domain (acoustic signal processing) and for field deployment. Indian talent is known globally for its data analytics skills, and coupled with the underwater domain expertise, can work on the MSP-based digital transformation for the region.
The successful operation of the Rooppur plant will underscore the commitment of Bangladesh to responsible and secure nuclear energy utilization
History has shown that whenever Pakistan sought peaceful relations with India, India responded positively. This held true during democratic governments and even during dictatorships in Pakistan.
Muizzu’s regime in the Maldives in conjunction with Pakistan could be potentially sitting on China’s lap for decades, along with a pro-China government in Nepal, and Myanmar annyway drawn into China’s strategic sphere since the military coup in Nay Pyi Taw in February 2021.
While Pakistan continues to blame India for the bombings in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it fails to introspect on its own internal crisis stemming from its policies against its citizens and the military/political support being given to certain radical outfits or groups.
Due to the lack of established regard for the democratic system, elections held after the 1990s have been marred by political turmoil and civic unrest. The absence of a solid democratic foundation has hindered the institutionalization of democracy in national life and politics.
The China-funded Sinamale Bridge connecting the capital Male and the airport island Hulhule, is a boon to the Maldivian people, who readily relate to the project, and hence to China as a development partner. But China is seen only as a developmental supplementary to long-term friendly neighbour India and not as an alternate in any way.
What we see in Kota today is deeply rooted in middle-class aspirations for social mobility, considering meritocracy a fair and promising system. But, the ‘merit ladder’ for upward mobility is not equally tangible and accessible to all. The material, social and psychological resources available for these students depend on their social location.
China has been supporting, training and arming northeast terrorists for the past several decades. The ongoing political experiment of ethnic cleansing and polarization in Manipur would naturally be exploited by China.
The Sino–Bangladeshi partnership has not grown at the expense of the Indo–Bangladeshi partnership. Bangladesh does not constitute a part of the traditional Chinese sphere of influence.
Bangladesh's energy woes demand innovative solutions, and the integration of solar and wind energies in a hybrid system represents a groundbreaking approach to meeting the nation's power needs.
India holds together not by ignoring diversity but by granting constitutional and ideational recognition to different ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. The word ‘India’ evokes and symbolizes a “we feeling” in the people's collective consciousness, derived from long-held traditions and pluralist imaginations.
The persistence of child marriage in South Asia indicates the widespread failure of governments to address one of the most critical human rights issues. Effective legal remedies and ensuring accountability for those complicit in such crimes can be the panacea for such social ills.
India's leadership has already committed itself to exploiting the linkages between economic growth, gender equality, peace, and security and the use of technological innovations for universal benefit. India has championed the cause of low-income nations in the past — and it could now do so again.
