Belgium’s place at the heart of Europe is giving India a new opening into the continent’s trade, technology and defence networks. Despite not being a great power nor having France’s military weight nor Germany’s industrial heft, few countries of the size of Belgium occupy such a consequential patch of the geopolitical map. Wedged between France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and sitting on the North Sea, Belgium is close to the principal political, economic and mil

With the successful launch of the EOS-05 aboard the GSLV-F17, India has finally acquired its first dedicated Earth-imaging satellite designed to operate from a geosynchronous orbit. The imaging satellite is a significant step towards strategic self-reliance and will make us less dependent on foreign technology and intelligence. The imaging satellite gives us something every serious space power needs: the ability to watch, rather than merely look. Given the magnitude of our th

As the Indus Waters Treaty collapses under the weight of arbitral boycotts and upstream infrastructure competition, South Asia’s river basins are fast becoming the region’s defining geopolitical flashpoint. For over six decades, the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 stood as a singular, almost miraculous anomaly in the turbulent geopolitical landscape of South Asia. Brokered by the World Bank after nine years of painstaking diplomacy, the treaty successfully withstood three major w

There is something almost comical about China and Pakistan sitting together at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and solemnly condemning terrorism. The recent Bishkek Declaration declared that “double standards” in the fight against terrorism was unacceptable. It called for action against terrorism, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and rejects attempts to exploit terrorist, separatist and extremist groups for selfish purposes. One wonders whether a

India sit fifth in the 2025-27 World Test Championship standings with 68 points from 11 matches and a points percentage of 51.52. That figure places them behind Australia (80 per cent), South Africa (75), New Zealand (72.22) and Bangladesh (55.56). Only the top two teams at the end of the cycle will contest the 2027 final. With seven Tests remaining — two away to New Zealand in November and five at home against Australia from late January to early March — the path is narrow,

To its west, old relationships in the Gulf are acquiring new strategic and military dimensions. Across the Atlantic, Washington is increasingly using tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy. At the same time, India holds the BRICS presidency in 2026 and prepares to host its summit when the grouping is being watched in the West as a potential challenge to the American-dominated global financial order. Individually, these developments may appear unrelated. Put together, they

India’s decision to pull out of the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup for a high-profile friendly with Brazil sends the wrong signal at a time when its Act East policy demands consistency and commitment. On the eve of India’s 80th Independence Day, Indian media carried the news of India’s withdrawal from the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup football tournament, as announced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) a day before. Justification for the said decision explained that Indian part

There is something wonderfully Indian about reaching 80 and still arguing about whether we are celebrating 79 years or the 80th Independence Day. The answer is simple: India became independent on 15 August 1947, making this year’s celebration the 80th Independence Day, while 79 years have been completed. Numbers apart, 80 is a magnificent milestone. I have therefore tried a slightly unusual birthday exercise. Let us count 80 things India can proudly celebrate and 80 things it

As drones and electronic warfare reshape the battlefield, high-power microwaves offer India an unconventional weapon. Wars are becoming increasingly dependent on something that cannot be seen, heard or easily defended against: electromagnetic energy. Drones need electronics to fly while missiles need them to navigate. Disable the circuitry and an expensive weapon can become an expensive piece of inert metal. That is the promise of the high-power microwave array (HPMA), one of

While India is rewriting its trade strategy, market access will matter only if domestic industry can turn it into investment, jobs and deeper global value-chain integration. After years of cautiously pursuing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), India has signed landmark deals with the United Kingdom and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), while talks continue with several other major economies. The move reflects a broader strategy to deepen integration with global markets,

Part 3: Tribal Pride Day provides an opportunity to honour the traditions, culture and valour of India's Adivasi communities. Having examined the origins of World Indigenous Peoples' Day in Part 1 and its relevance to India in Part 2, we must now consider whether this observance has any place in the Indian context. The question is not whether indigenous peoples deserve respect and recognition—they certainly do—but whether this particular observance reflects India's historical

Bangladesh’s growing embrace of Chinese infrastructure and strategic capital confronts India with a geopolitical challenge that extends far beyond the Teesta. For more than five decades, India and Bangladesh have built one of South Asia’s most stable bilateral relationships. Bound by geography, culture and the shared memory of Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, New Delhi viewed Dhaka as an indispensable partner in securing India's eastern frontier and integrating its northeaste

Yastika Bhatia’s maiden Test century at Lord’s crowns the rise of an elegant wicketkeeper-batter who has quietly become indispensable to India’s new generation. Critics may say that there are flashier cricketers than Yastika Bhatia. She does not possess the raw power of a Smriti Mandhana or the aura of a Harmanpreet Kaur. She rarely dominates highlight reels or social media clips. Instead, she has built her reputation through reliability – a quality far more vital. At a time

The repatriation of a centuries-old Kartikeya idol from Australia underscores the importance of ‘civilisational diplomacy’ on India’s part. India and Australia have spent the past two decades discovering that they have more in common than cricket, the Commonwealth and a shared affection for the Indian Ocean. What began as a cautious strategic courtship has matured into one of the Indo-Pacific's most consequential partnerships, spanning defence, critical minerals, education,

From January 2025 to January 2026, sewage-contaminated piped water caused disease outbreaks in 26 cities across 22 states and union territories, sickening at least 5,500 people and killing 34. Sixteen state capitals were on that list. In Gandhinagar, Gujarat’s capital, more than 150 children were hospitalised with typhoid in a single week after contaminated water entered the supply. In Bengaluru, residents of an entire layout reported diarrhoea and stomach infections after se

India’s shocking T20 series defeat to Ireland is a warning that the country’s greatest cricketing opponent is no longer the team standing across the pitch, but the complacency festering within its own dressing room. A team that commands the richest cricket board, supposedly the deepest talent pool and the most lavish ecosystem in the sport has contrived to lose a T20 series to a nation where cricket remains a minority pursuit. That this is Shreyas Iyer’s fifth match as T20 ca

India’s BRICS presidency will be judged less by declarations than by its ability to translate ambition into economic cooperation. Following the BRICS Summit, attention has quickly shifted from the bloc’s expanding membership to India’s upcoming presidency. While BRICS now represents a larger share of the global economy than ever before, the question is no longer about whether the grouping matters, but whether it can deliver tangible economic outcomes. India’s presidency prese

India’s rising crimes against senior citizens expose a failure of social protection, policing and community responsibility. AI generated image India is ageing rapidly. With a growing population of citizens above 60 years, the vulnerability of our elderly has become a stark national concern. The latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its ‘Crime in India 2022-24’ report reveals a disturbing trend: crimes against senior citizens are not only persistent but

As the Indo-Pacific enters an era of heightened geopolitical competition, India and South Korea are discovering that economic complementarity alone is no longer enough. For decades, India and South Korea have enjoyed cordial relations built upon commerce, investment and the success of Korean conglomerates in the Indian market. Yet, despite flourishing economic ties, the relationship often lacked strategic urgency. That complacency is no longer tenable. The Indo-Pacific has be

From Aadhaar to e-passports, India has digitised governance at scale. But the legal architecture of citizenship remains opaque and poorly understood. The recent controversy over the Ministry of External Affairs’ statement that an Indian passport is not proof of citizenship has produced predictable political reactions. Opposition leaders questioned what document then proves citizenship. Government officials responded that nothing had changed and that passports have never been