SCB Chair
Why China’s Embassy found itself defending India to Chinese netizens
The Chinese Embassy’s unusual decision to republish a domestic commentary defending India reveals how Beijing is trying to balance diplomatic outreach with rising nationalist sentiment at home – Nishit Kumar
Charting the course to deeper rail connectivity between India and Nepal
Saurabh Kaushik On July 20, a cargo train carrying 40 containers of mustard seeds arrived at Budhnagar in Biratnagar, Nepal from Kolkata port. It was the first such instance of a cargo train directly transporting third-country imports from India to a railway station inside Nepal. Although the service was first launched in June 2023 during
‘Act East’ and ‘Travel East’: Tourism as a Catalyst in Strengthening India-ASEAN Relations
At present, India and ASEAN countries are extensively engaging with each other through trade deals and strategic partnerships. However, the foundation of their friendly relations lies in their centuries-old shared civilizational bond. Initial interactions between India and Southeast Asia began with early maritime journeys between their kingdoms which gradually transformed into well-established trade networks. Along
China’s Academic Ascent: How it built a Global Higher Education Powerhouse?
In the last 30 years, China has successfully executed one of the world’s most ambitious reform efforts in its higher education. The educational institutions that were not popular among the international rankings are now recognised as some of the world’s leading research and innovation centres. This change has not happened overnight. Beijing viewed higher education
BEWARE THE ‘EARLY HARVEST’: IS CHINA SETTING AN LAC TRAP FOR INDIA?
Is an “early harvest” in India-China border talks a smart diplomatic move or a strategic trap? As China speaks of a boundary issue “left over from history” while simultaneously strengthening its position along the LAC, important questions arise about India’s negotiating strategy, the risks of sector-wise settlements, and the future of border dialogue in a
Why India’s Pakistan policy needs a serious review
It has become almost an article of faith in India’s strategic discourse that the only choice on Pakistan lies between punitive resolve and naive accommodation. That binary is misleading and has quietly impoverished our thinking. – Ashok K. Kantha
US-China ties: shifting equilibrium
The Trump administration has repositioned China as an economic competitor to be managed through deal-making rather than a systemic adversary to be countered through alliances – Ashok K. Kantha
Nepal: One month of PM Shah’s government, What’s new?
– Anu Maria Joseph Balen Shah was sworn in as Nepal’s Prime Minister on 27 March after securing a two-thirds majority. Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) assumed power after the September 2025 deadly protests, which caused the fall of the previous KP Sharma Oli’s fragile government. Shah, a popular rapper, emerged as a charismatic leader
The ‘harvest’ China wants is one India cannot afford
When Luo Zhaohui, then China’s Ambassador to India, revived the idea of an “early harvest” in India-China boundary negotiations in 2017, India responded with scepticism. The proposal — to settle the Sikkim boundary in isolation from the three other sectors — was an asymmetric concession dressed up in the language of progress. India has resisted
The Ebola spread in DR Congo, The Faye-Sonko split in Senegal, and the Deepening US military involvement in Nigeria
What happened this week? DR CongoOn 27 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described Ituri province in DR Congo as a centre of a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict.”
Xi, Trump and India’s narrowing strategic space
The Beijing summit showed that American primacy in shaping the terms of the US-China relationship is over. China’s growing strategic confidence also leaves it with less incentive to offer India concessions on unresolved issues. – Ashok K. Kantha