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By:

Dr. V.L. Dharurkar

12 February 2025 at 2:53:17 pm

From Frost to Thaw

After years of diplomatic chill, India and Canada have attempted a strategic reset driven as much by geopolitics and trade anxieties as by a desire to repair a damaged partnership. For nearly three years relations between India and Canada resembled a prolonged winter. Yet, the visit of Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney to India at the start of the Month suggests that the thaw may finally have begun. If the past few years were marked by recrimination and mistrust, the present moment hints...

From Frost to Thaw

After years of diplomatic chill, India and Canada have attempted a strategic reset driven as much by geopolitics and trade anxieties as by a desire to repair a damaged partnership. For nearly three years relations between India and Canada resembled a prolonged winter. Yet, the visit of Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney to India at the start of the Month suggests that the thaw may finally have begun. If the past few years were marked by recrimination and mistrust, the present moment hints at a cautious but deliberate reset. Both sides have shown a keenness to replace acrimony with pragmatism. The chill began during the tenure of Justin Trudeau, whose government publicly alleged that Indian agents may have been involved in violent activities on Canadian soil. India rejected the accusations as unfounded and politically motivated. The dispute triggered tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions, the freezing of high-level dialogue and an atmosphere of mutual suspicion. For two countries that had long prided themselves on democratic affinity, shared Commonwealth ties and large diaspora links, the rapid deterioration was remarkable. Canada is home to one of the world’s largest Indian diasporas, numbering well over a million people. Trade and educational links have grown steadily since the late twentieth century. Canadian universities attract tens of thousands of Indian students each year, while Indian professionals and entrepreneurs have contributed significantly to Canada’s economic life. These human connections had long acted as ballast in the relationship. But politics, as ever, can overwhelm social ties. Symbolic Weight Carney’s New Delhi visit therefore carries symbolic weight. A former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, he has entered politics with a reputation for technocratic competence rather than ideological theatrics. His five-day visit to India, from late February to early March, was carefully choreographed to signal renewal. Beginning in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, he met industrialists, bankers and policymakers, emphasising economic cooperation as the cornerstone of the revived relationship. India today is among the world’s fastest-growing major economies, with ambitions to expand its industrial base, modernise infrastructure and transition towards cleaner sources of energy. Canada, meanwhile, possesses abundant natural resources, technological expertise and capital. The two economies are complementary in ways that diplomacy had recently obscured. One of the most notable outcomes of the visit was a long-term agreement on uranium supply. Canada’s mining giant Cameco and India’s Department of Atomic Energy concluded a ten-year deal worth roughly $2.6bn to supply more than 20m pounds of uranium. For India, which is expanding its civil nuclear programme to meet rising energy demand while limiting carbon emissions, reliable access to uranium is strategically important. The agreement will help fuel a new generation of small and medium reactors, which India sees as crucial to its energy transition. Canada, for its part, is among the world’s leading producers of uranium. Renewed nuclear cooperation therefore reflects not only diplomatic reconciliation but also the convergence of economic interests. Previous agreements between the two countries had faltered amid political tensions. This time both governments have emphasised implementation and timely delivery. Trade Boost Trade, too, looms large in the reset. Bilateral commerce between India and Canada currently hovers around $10bn to $12bn annually, a modest figure for economies of their scale. Both governments have spoken of raising that number dramatically, potentially to $50bn by the end of the decade. Negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), long stalled, have been revived with renewed urgency. Here global geopolitics provides an additional incentive. The increasingly protectionist trade policies of the United States under Donald Trump have unsettled many of Washington’s traditional partners. Tariff threats and economic nationalism have encouraged countries to diversify their commercial relationships. India and Canada, both heavily exposed to the American market, now see advantage in strengthening bilateral trade and investment as a hedge against volatility emanating from Washington. Education and innovation are another pillar of the renewed engagement. Canadian universities are exploring the possibility of establishing campuses in India, enabling Indian students to access Canadian education without leaving the country. Joint research programmes and technological collaboration are expected to deepen intellectual ties that already run deep. Beyond economics lies a broader strategic calculation. The Indo-Pacific has become the central theatre of twenty-first-century geopolitics. As China’s influence expands across Asia, many countries are seeking new partnerships to preserve a balance of power and maintain open sea lanes. India has positioned itself as a leading voice in this effort, promoting a vision of a free, stable and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Strategic Dynamics Canada, though geographically distant, has begun to pay greater attention to the region’s strategic dynamics. Collaboration with India could therefore form part of a wider network involving countries such as Australia, Japan and New Zealand. For Ottawa, engagement with New Delhi offers a way to remain relevant in Asia’s shifting geopolitical landscape. For India, Canadian support adds another partner to its growing Indo-Pacific coalition. Yet enthusiasm should be tempered with realism. Diplomatic resets are easier to announce than to sustain. The political sensitivities that strained relations in the past have not vanished entirely. Canada’s domestic politics, particularly debates surrounding diaspora activism, remain complex. India, meanwhile, is unlikely to tolerate external criticism on matters it considers internal. Managing these differences will require careful diplomacy and mutual restraint. Nevertheless, the symbolism of the present moment matters. The revival of high-level dialogue, the signing of concrete economic agreements and the visible warmth between leaders all suggest a shared desire to turn the page. In the grand sweep of history, relations between India and Canada have always rested on deeper foundations than temporary political quarrels. If the current reset succeeds, it could transform a once-strained partnership into one of the more promising relationships in the Indo-Pacific era. (The writer is a foreign affairs expert. Views personal.)

Redrawing the Map

A business-savvy Chief Minister tries to sweep away the grime and legacy of her predecessors.

Delhi
Delhi

For years, Delhi staggered under the weight of promise and paralysis. Under the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Arvind Kejriwal, populist gestures often overshadowed serious governance. Infrastructure projects lagged, illegal constructions mushroomed and despite earnest talk about the Yamuna’s revival and healthcare reforms, delivery fell woefully short. Now, with Rekha Gupta of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the helm, the winds of change are unmistakably blowing through the national capital.


In her first 60 days in office, Gupta, a businesswoman-turned-politician, has unveiled a flurry of initiatives that signal both a break from the past and an ambition to future-proof Delhi. Her Rs. 4,000-crore development project, announced at the 120th anniversary of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is touted as a “100-year development model.” Sceptics might smirk at the timescale, but the early signs of intent are hard to ignore.


Unlike the AAP, whose tenure saw administrative gridlock between Delhi’s government and its municipalities, Gupta has used her political heft to align the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), municipal corporations, and government departments. Already, Rs. 3,000 crore has been committed to upgrading water and sanitation - two sectors that were chronic failures under her predecessors. Under AAP, sewer overflows and the stench of bureaucratic inertia were common; Gupta has rolled out 1,111 GPS-tracked water tankers and deployed 50 super-sucker machines to clean the city’s drains in stark contrast to the mere two machines bought in the previous decade.


More impressively, technology is being leveraged with unexpected sophistication. Citizens can now track water tankers through mobile dashboards, a small but symbolic shift towards greater transparency - an area where the AAP's promises often evaporated into bluster. Gupta is acutely aware that clean governance must be as visible as clean drains.


Healthcare, another Achilles’ heel of the AAP regime despite grandstanding on mohalla clinics, is also receiving urgent attention. At the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), Gupta called for a more inclusive healthcare model, acknowledging Delhi’s de facto role as a national health capital. The recent launch of an Integrated Liver Rehabilitation Centre, inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, fits snugly into her broader strategy: modernise, expand and integrate healthcare systems from primary to tertiary levels.


The Chief Minister’s embrace of Ayushman Bharat, the Modi government’s flagship health insurance programme (something the AAP resisted adopting fully) signals a new era of cooperative federalism. There is also a commitment to revive water bodies, install smart meters and expand hospital capacity, aiming for an infrastructure that can support a swelling population.


Gupta’s critics, especially the AAP, argue that her blitzkrieg of announcements is more style than substance. But her response to the Mustafabad building collapse offers an early case study in active governance. Within hours, evacuation orders were issued for nearby unsafe structures. Law Minister Kapil Mishra, a vocal critic of the AAP’s alleged complicity in illegal constructions, directly linked the tragedy to Kejriwal-era negligence and appeasement politics. While the rhetoric was predictably sharp, there is little doubt that the MCD, now under BJP influence, has shifted from passive tolerance to active intervention.


Where Kejriwal once skilfully played the outsider taking on entrenched power structures, Gupta is positioning herself as the reformer restoring institutional strength and public accountability.


Nonetheless, success will depend not just on new projects but on the sustained execution of these plans. Delhi’s problems are hydra-headed: air pollution, housing shortages, traffic congestion and climate resilience are all interlinked challenges.


Still, the early months of her tenure suggest a refreshing seriousness of purpose. Rekha Gupta’s model is less about charismatic populism and more about managerial competence. If she can maintain this momentum and can translate announcements into visible results, Delhi might indeed be poised for a renaissance. After years of drift, the city is in dire need of a new architect.

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