Gateway Features

Synergising DPI and digital commons

The_Future_of_Digital_Public_Infrastructure-_A_Thesis_for_Rapid_Global_Adoption Courtesy: Carnegie India

India’s G20 presidency has made digital public infrastructure (DPI) a central offering, showcasing the country’s beneficial experience of technology and digitalisation and its relevance to countries of various income levels. Expositions on DPI focus on it being inclusive, trustworthy, and serving the global good, as well as ways in which DPI can support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India has taken a pioneering role in developing an effective DPI ecosystem through India Stack. Its vast and valuable experience offers learnings read more

All eyes on the Indian Ocean region

20230309265L Courtesy: The Hindu

While the Indian government’s focus from January 2021 was fixed on the Indo-Pacific with a sustained endeavour to strengthen the Quad, policy attention has shifted back to the Indian Ocean since October 2023. Of course, the Indo-Pacific strategy covers both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but when danger deepens, the immediate neighbourhood matters more than distant shores. The Maldives, with Mohamed Muizzu as President, seems to be heading on a collision course with India. Despite New Delhi’s patience and diplomatic tact read more

Still not weatherproof

Weatherproof Courtesy: Getty Images

The emergence of India, Brazil and South Africa as powers on the world stage has implications for the older middle powers in Europe, including Germany. The findings of the Emerging Middle Powers Report 2024 provide crucial insights for German policy-makers in this regard. For 49 per cent of respondents in India, China is the most significant foreign policy concern. This is a view not shared in Germany (27 per cent), Brazil (6 per cent) and South Africa (2 per cent). read more

Power brings responsibility

Germany no pickandchoose Courtesy: Sputnik News

The phrase ‘We agree on the analysis but doubt the means employed’ is part of the standard diplomatic lexicon. The Emerging Middle Powers Report 2024 presents a somewhat different picture when it comes to expert communities in Brazil, Germany, India and South Africa: while there is substantial disagreement on the causes of current global malaises, a deeper dive into the proposed solutions suggests growing consensus, particularly on global governance reform. Germany strongly advocates a free international order based on international read more

Research

Leveraging IBSA for the G20 Troika Presidencies

On December 1, 2023, India will hand over the G20 Presidency to Brazil. The G20 troika will now comprise the three IBSA countries – India, Brazil, South Africa – till November 2025. This trio has an agenda in common and with the G20, such as multilateral reform, energy transitions and digitalisation. IBSA should use its mechanisms and natural solidarity to advance the interests of the Global South.

Foreign Affairs

The New Nuclear Age

China’s expansionist nuclear programme aims to bolster its capabilities, so much so, that Beijing's predictions boast 2500 new warheads by 2030, thus rivalling the American and Russian arsenals. As the dragon quadruples its nuclear propensity, heralding the world to something greatly unstable – a tripolar nuclear system; nuclear peace seems a quite convoluted goal.

Book Reviews

Crosswinds: Nehru, Zhou and the Anglo-American Competition over China

In his new book, former Indian Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China, Vijay Gokhale analyzes how newly independent India navigated Anglo-American competition and the Cold War ideologies of China in the 1940s and 1950s. The author focuses on key events from the recognition of the Peoples’ Republic of China to the two Taiwan Straits crises. His insights of the period resonate with today's U.S.-China rivalry, and highlights India's evolving role in the Indo-Pacific.

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