Diplomacy and Global Politics

By Dr. Somita Chakraborty At the invitation of Prime Minister of Malaysia, H.E. Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahhim, Prime Minister Modi visited Malaysia (7-8 February, 2026). In a special gesture, PM Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia was present in the airport to receive PM Modi. India and Malaysia maintained a strong relation. Malaysia hosts one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world. Moreover, it is India’s third largest trading partner in ASEAN . On the investment front, major Malaysian investors, like, PETRONAS, United Engineers (UEM) etc. have strong presence in India. At the same time, more than 200 Indian companies are also actively operating in Malaysia in different sectors like, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, construction etc. In August, 2024, India and Malaysia elevated their bilateral relationship to ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. During his visit, he met with Prime Minister of Malaysia, members of Malaysian Parliament, ministers, dignitaries from the Indian community an...

  By Dr. Somita Chakraborty On 6 th February, 2026, the Lok Sabha discussed the incident of disruption of Sikh Nagar Kirtan in New Zealand. Honourable Member of Parliament, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, expressed her concern in Lok Sabha, regarding recent incident of disruption of Sikh religious procession (Nagar Kirtan) in New Zealand. Smt. Badal asked detail information about the alleged disruption of Sikh Nagar Kirtan organized to mark the Parkash Purab of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The Kirtan was confronted and disrupted by a local group.   The Member of the Parliament, also informed that the incident was the second such disruption of Sikh religious procession. The previous incident took place in South Auckland, New Zealand. Smt. Badal also conveyed the concerns of various Sikh organizations and political leaders, who found the act as a threat to religious freedom of all Indian-origin communities leaving abroad. Her question also included queries related to diplomatic...

By Dr. Somita Chakraborty On Monday, the US President Donald Trump announced that US is going to reduce tariff rates on Indian exports from 25% to 18%, and at the same time are going to scrap the additional 25% duty on selected items. The announcement was immediately appreciated by Prime Minister Modi. The decision of the Trump Administration is going to serve as a great relief for Indian exports to the US. Last year, the newly elected US administration suddenly changed their long-standing business approach towards India. For last few months, the Trump administration imposed high tariffs on Indian goods. During a Parliamentary discussion held on 29 th January, 2026, while answering a question, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, the Minister of State (MEA), stated that the US imposed reciprocal tariffs on 31 st July, 2025, and imposed additional 25% ad valorem duty selected Indian exports on 27 th August, 2025. They also imposed sector specific tariffs on different products, such as, ...

  By Dr. Somita Chakraborty On 29 th January, 2026, during the Rajya Sabha Session, Shri Samik Bhattacharya raised concern regarding proposed direct commercial flights between Dhaka and Pakistan.  He asked that whether the Government of India received any request, proposal or informal communication from the Government of Bangladesh or Government of Pakistan or from any airline to use Indian airspace for the proposed direct flights between Dhaka and Pakistan. Honorable Member of Parliament also asked the present status of such request.  His question also included diverse aspects, which India should consider, such as, national security, diplomatic sensitivities etc. Answering the question Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, the Minister of State (MEA) said that the Government of India is well aware of the proposed launch of direct flights on the Dhaka- Karachi sector by Biman Bangladesh.  Shri Singh also said that the competent authorities of the Government of India pro...

  By Dr. Somita Chakraborty Today, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2026-27 in the Parliament. This is the first Budget prepared in Karavya Bhawan. The budget is inspired by 3 main kartavyas, 1)       To accelerate and sustan economic growth by enhancing productivity and competitiveness, and building resilience to volatile global dynamics. 2)       To fulfil aspirations of people and build their capacity, making them strong partners in India’s path to prosperity 3)       aligned with vision of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, is to ensure that every family, community, region and sector has access to resources, amenities and opportunities for meaningful participation. A quick glimpse of the budget 1)       Scaling up manufacturing in 7 strategic and frontier sectors, they are, Biopharma, Semiconductor, electronic...

  By Dr. Somita Chakraborty Today, Prime Minister Modi received a delegation of Foreign Ministers of Arab countries, Secretary General of the League of Arab States and Heads of Arab delegations. The delegation arrived India for the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. The MEA statement stated that Mr. Prime Minister highlighted the deep and historic people-to-people ties between India and the Arab world, which have continued to inspire and strengthen Indo-Arab relations over the years. While outlining his vision for the India-Arab partnership in the years ahead, Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed India’s commitment to further deepen cooperation in diverse areas, including trade and investment, energy, technology, healthcare and other priority areas, for the mutual benefit of the people. Prime Minister Modi also reiterated India’s continued support for the people of Palestine and welcomed ongoing peace efforts, including the Gaza peace plan . Prime Minister Modi ex...