Assessments

Europe

India

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal holds a press conference on EU-India trade relations at the European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on June 17, 2022.

Economics

Politics

A free trade agreement could help both sides reduce their respective dependencies on China, if disputes over issues like market access and tariffs don’t get in the way.

The Drivers and Challenges to an EU-India Trade Deal

South Africa

Brazil

China

Russia

An attendant stands next to South African, Indian, Russian, Brazilian and Chinese flags during a BRICS summit in Xiamen, China, on Sept. 4, 2017. 

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

The addition of other non-Western nations like Saudi Arabia would boost BRICS’ economic and political heft as an alternative to the G-7, though it may come at the cost of the bloc’s internal cohesion.

For BRICS, More Members Would Mean More Power -- and More Problems

Paraguay

Israel

United Kingdom

Pakistan

A general view shows a Knesset session in Jerusalem, Israel, on March 20, 2023. 

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The U.K. and Paraguay Hold Elections, Israel's Knesset Resumes

Nigeria

Japan

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during their Feb. 4, 2022, meeting in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive March 20, 2023, in Moscow for a three-day trip to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials. 

The Weekly Rundown: Nigeria Elects Governors, Xi Visits Russia

Maldives

Police stand guard in Male, the Maldives, as protesters take part in an anti-India rally organized by the island nation's opposition coalition on March 25, 2022. 

The September ballot will decipher whether the island nation deepens its historically close ties with India, or drifts toward China and religious extremism.

What's at Stake in the Maldives' Presidential Election

Vietnam

Serbia

Kosovo

Officials stand near flags of participating countries and organizations at the venue where the second meeting of the G-20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies under India's G-20 presidency has begun Feb. 22, 2023, in Bengaluru, India.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Serbian and Kosovar Leaders Meet, G-20 Meetings Reveal Divergent Global Priorities

Media

Podcasts

Military & Security

India seeks to modernize its military in an effort to counter threats from Pakistan and China.

Essential Geopolitics: India's Defense Modernization Strategy 

Visitors walk past a model of India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Defense Expo 2022 in India's Gandhinagar state on Oct. 18, 2022.

India's efforts to reform its defense sector must still clear several hurdles, but success would set the country up to deter Chinese aggression over time.

India's Defense Reforms Will Not Come Easy, but New Delhi Presses On

Activists who are part of the youth wing of the opposition Indian National Congress party hold placards and shout slogans during a protest outside the regional headquarters of India's Life Insurance Corporation in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 7, 2023. The protesters are calling for an inquiry into allegations of major accounting fraud at the Adani Group.

The Adani Group's fraud scandal has left investors scrambling, but India's economy is likely safe from a broader financial crisis.

A Financial Crisis in India Remains Unlikely Following the Adani Scandal

Columns

On Geopolitics

Ethiopia

Argentina

Iran

Turkey

Hong Kong SAR, China

Taiwan

Germany

France

Ukraine

Belarus

In this scorecard, we take a critical look at our successes and slip-ups in forecasting geopolitical events over the past year.

Grading Our 2022 Annual Forecast as 2023 Approaches

United States

India's neutral position on Ukraine reflects its desire to remain cordial with the U.S. without jeopardizing its close economic and security ties with Russia.

In an Increasingly Multipolar World, India Maintains Its Strategic Neutrality

Nepal

Nepal's election outcome will shape its relations with India and China.

Essential Geopolitics: Nepal's Geopolitical Dilemma

The Central Bank of India requested citizens deposit or exchange the country's highest denomination 2,000-rupee note by Sept. 30, Reuters reported on May 20.

India: Central Bank to Withdraw 2,000-Rupee Notes From Circulation

India's opposition Indian National Congress party won Karnataka state's legislative assembly election, defeating the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), AP reported on May 13.

India: Bharatiya Janata Party Loses Karnataka State to Congress Party

Foreign ministers from India and Pakistan traded accusations and reiterated long-standing grievances at separate press conferences following a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in India's southwestern state of Goa, Reuters reported on May 5.

India, Pakistan: Accusatory Statements Suggest Thaw in Bilateral Relations Is Unlikely

A new draft of India's national electricity policy scrapped plans to build new coal-fired power plants beyond the projects already moving forward, which will generate 28.2 gigawatts of power, Reuters reported on May 4.

India: New Electricity Policy Scraps Some New Coal-Fired Power Capacity

India and Russia suspended talks to settle bilateral trade in rupees, Reuters reported on May 4.

India, Russia: Suspension of Rupee Trade Settlement Talks Illustrates Dominance of Petrodollar

India is pushing the Group of 20 to let member states choose their own roadmap to cut carbon emissions instead of setting a target date to end the use of coal, natural gas and other fossil fuels, Reuters reported on May 2.

India: Backed by Beijing, New Delhi Pushes G-20 to Consider 'Multiple Energy Pathways'

India is on track to become Europe's largest supplier of refined oil products in April while also importing record amounts of Russian crude, Bloomberg reported on April 28, citing data from analytics firm Kpler.

EU: Indian Refiners Boost Exports to Europe Amid Record-High Russian Crude Imports

Saudi Arabia

South Africa’s ambassador to BRICS (the informal bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) said 19 countries had expressed an interest in joining the bloc, which will meet in Cape Town on June 2-3 to discuss enlargement, Bloomberg reported on April 24.

Global: 19 Countries Express Interest in Joining BRICS Ahead of Enlargement Discussions

Afghanistan

Algeria

Antigua and Barbuda

Luxembourg

South Sudan

A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Angola

Armenia

Australia

Bahrain

Lithuania

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Barbados

Benin

Egypt

Malta

Belize

Botswana

Brunei Darussalam

North Macedonia

Tajikistan

Bhutan

Bolivia

Burkina Faso

Cambodia

Iraq

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Burundi

Finland

Cameroon

Canada

Georgia

Jordan

Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

Chile

Federated States of Micronesia

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Sri Lanka

Central African Republic

Colombia

Fiji

Latvia

Lebanon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chad

Costa Rica

Indonesia

Libya

Comoros

Cuba

Czech Republic

A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Morocco

Cote d'Ivoire

Denmark

Dominica

Kiribati

Moldova

Oman

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dominican Republic

Laos

Palestinian Territories

Djibouti

Ecuador

Holy See (Vatican City)

Malaysia

Qatar

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Greece

Marshall Islands

Eritrea

Grenada

Mongolia

<p>India is endowed with favorable geographic barriers. Surrounded by oceans on three sides and the formidable Himalayan Mountains to the north, what is now modern India has been free of outside interference for much of its long history. Its large geographic size and population, coupled with weaker peripheral nations on much of its boundaries, have allowed India to become the dominant force in South Asia. Home to the world&rsquo;s second-largest population, India&rsquo;s 1.3 billion people are spread out across the peninsular nation, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the tropical south. India&rsquo;s population core is settled along the Ganges river basin, a densely populated swath of fertile land that extends across the northern Himalayan border. India&rsquo;s primary geographic challenge comes from a lack of strong internal boundaries. Modern-day India struggles to rectify the ambitions of a relatively weak national government that competes with the prerogatives of strong, diverse states &mdash; a legacy of a long history of domestic infighting between various dynasties uninhibited by mountains or other defining geography. A similar lack of defining geography still plagues India&rsquo;s northwest border. Waves of Greek, Persian, and Mongols invaded, culminating in the Mughal Empire, which united much of the subcontinent prior to British conquest. The northwestern border still poses national security risks, due to ongoing disputes with Pakistan. But rising domestic consumption means India is increasingly dependent on imported goods from distant suppliers. Surrounded by water or impassable mountains, New Delhi now faces the additional task of developing naval capabilities to secure its critical supply routes, risking maritime tensions with China in the broader Indo-Pacific basin.</p>

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SITUATION REPORTS

India: Central Bank to Withdraw 2,000-Rupee Notes From Circulation

India: Bharatiya Janata Party Loses Karnataka State to Congress Party

India, Pakistan: Accusatory Statements Suggest Thaw in Bilateral Relations Is Unlikely

India: New Electricity Policy Scraps Some New Coal-Fired Power Capacity

India, Russia: Suspension of Rupee Trade Settlement Talks Illustrates Dominance of Petrodollar

India: Backed by Beijing, New Delhi Pushes G-20 to Consider 'Multiple Energy Pathways'

EU: Indian Refiners Boost Exports to Europe Amid Record-High Russian Crude Imports

Global: 19 Countries Express Interest in Joining BRICS Ahead of Enlargement Discussions

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