Publication

Prioritising Human Development: A Blueprint for the World from India’s Journey from Pre-MDG Successes to SDGs

This article examines India’s comprehensive journey towards sustainable development, demonstrating the deep alignment between its national priorities and the global development agenda even before the advent of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The article highlights the nation’s significant achievements in critical areas such as poverty reduction, health, financial inclusion, and environmental sustainability. Acknowledging persistent challenges in achieving all targets, we identify key areas requiring focused intervention for future progress. Ultimately, India’s distinctive development model, characterized by its immense scale, profound diversity, and global engagement, serves as a valuable blueprint for sustainable development in the Global South and beyond.

India’s Neighbourhood First Policy: Navigating Power, Trust, and Rivalry in South Asia

India’s Neighbourhood First Policy (NFP) is a touchstone of its foreign policy, aimed at promoting peace, stability, connectivity, and cooperation in South Asia to enhance India’s regional and global influence. It is a defining subset of its overall foreign policy. While the groundwork for this policy was laid during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, under then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, through enhanced regional engagement, it was given emphatic currency by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the shape of the NFP, and formally launched in 2014. The NFP reflects India’s strategic imperative to cultivate a cooperative periphery, counterbalance external influences (especially from China), and project India’s influence within Asia and beyond. This Essay traces the origins of India’s approach to the neighbourhood from the pre-independence colonial period, its evolution under Jawaharlal Nehru and subsequent Congress and non-Congress governments, critically analyses the functioning of the NFP under the Modi government, and suggests ways in which India can retain its influence in the neighbourhood.

Gaurav Sen, Peril of the Pacific: Military Balance and Battle for Taiwan, New Delhi: KW Publishers Pvt Ltd, 2025

The issue of the Taiwan Straits lies at the core of tensions governing the relationship between two great powers: the United States and China. Amidst the economic and technological developments of China came a strong wave of aggressive military modernization that took the world by surprise. This development, as was speculated, had its spillover effect and saw force posturing and power projection across the Indo-Pacific region.