There has been discussion of alternate supply chains being created in India, Indonesia and Vietnam but supply chain issues originating from China are not going to go away in a hurry.
India, BRICS Fail the Iran Test: It Could Seek to Bridge Divides
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.
Bhutan Under China’s Doklam Shadow: Delhi Needs to Move Away From Protector-Protected Dynamic With Thimpu
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.
AI in Elder Care: Potential for Broader Social Transformation
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 EdTech Moment: Centre of Gravity of Global Education is Shifting
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.
More on Spotlight
South Asia in the Asian perspective: Macroeconomic policies and the triple crisis (Part I of a two-part analysis)
South Asia has no strong trade ties within the region, unlike many parts of Asia, and more particularly the developed parts of Asia, namely Southeast Asia and East Asia. South Asia, therefore, has to formulate its own macroeconomic policies to sustain growth keeping in mind global economic trends.
Caste, class and cricket: How a colonial sport became a religion in South Asia
The Hindus entered cricket due to their long-standing social and business rivalry with the Parsis. The first Hindu club, the Bombay Union, was formed in 1866. Muslim cricket began with the Luxmani and Tyebjee families, who helped establish a Muslim cricket club in 1883.
Bangladesh in the time of cyclones: When gender-based violence peaks
Wife battering is universal in Bangladesh in almost all homes. However, this increases manifold during and after cyclones. There is a breakdown of social and familial infrastructure and livelihood patterns and violence increases with economic stress and anxiety.
The challenge of Artificial Intelligence to higher education: Policymakers need to answer critical questions
Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) need to have policy responses to ensure checks and balances against generative AIs. The top-down policy approach may focus on banning the use of generative AIs. But participatory and adaptive approaches focus on developing policies that could accept the use of generative AIs in varying degrees, with the realisation that generative AIs are here to stay.
Violence must not be allowed to continue in Manipur; implement confidence-building measures
What is painful is the inability of civil society groups in the state to intervene during this critical time since the contending groups are not ready to negotiate with each other. However, one must not lose faith in the civil society which is based in Manipur's immediate neighbouring states like Nagaland, Mizoram, and Assam.
Uniform Civil Code should not be pushed through in haste; first make all personal laws gender-just
The Muslim Personal Law Board is committing the same mistake by opposing the UCC as it did during the discourse on the abhorrent Muslim practice of instantaneous triple talaq without realising its far-reaching consequences.
Modi meets Macron: World needs transformational diplomacy, not transactional diplomacy
Macron and Modi should shun transactional diplomacy that engages in multi-billion dollar agreements for military fighter jets and machinery, nuclear reactors and pharmaceutical products. Instead, they should embrace some transformational diplomacy to make the planet sustainable again.
Russian nuclear diplomacy in Sri Lanka will have wider strategic and security implications for region
Russia’s proposal to establish Sri Lanka’s first nuclear power plant comes on the heels of the completion of a similar nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, which has paved the path for Russia to play a larger role in South Asian geopolitics.
India-Nepal-Bangladesh power diplomacy is a big step for regional cooperation in South Asia
In recent years India has been prioritising regional integration among South Asian countries, excepting Pakistan. As per the joint vision statement between Nepal and India in April last year, the two countries agreed to expand sub-regional cooperation in the power sector among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN)
2022 floods in Pakistan: Violence and vulnerabilities of women increase during climate disasters
Climate crisis is a lesser word to describe the transformative shifts that are taking place in weather conditions across the Global South affecting mostly countries like Pakistan in South Asia. Attitudes of society need to change towards women. Societal attitudes, traditional norms and cultural practices create entrenched gender disparities that hinder women’s participation in development plans and in survival strategies devised to save them in the post-disaster period.
Modi's state visit to the US: A visit rich in style and substance
From Modi's standpoint, the visit unfolded precisely as he desired. The exceptional reception he received from the leader of the free world, less than a year before facing the billion-strong Indian electorate, serves as a significant boost for him.
Labor in the Gulf: Unlocked goldmine or a bottomless pit for low-income Nepalese workers?
It is high time the Nepalese government strengthens its diplomatic muscle and stands up strongly for the legal rights of its citizens working overseas.
Manipur: Where ignorance and hatred fed into policy slants
Manipur is burning and the government knows not what to do next. This is a sensitive state in a sensitive region with not very friendly neighbours. The collapse of State machinery here should be a cause for alarm.
Indian Navy conducts twin-carrier exercise in vaunted 'power projection'; but fund scarcity hobbles full combat potential
The June 10 deployment of two carriers by IN has received favourable notice internationally and this has added salience on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the USA (June 21) in relation to India’s naval capabilities.
