The rise of India as a world superpower in the global scenario is imperative to be planned carefully with strategic foresight and a great foreign policy. The country’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar defines what he believes are critical strategies that India needs to undertake to become a leader of the world. Speaking at the launch of the magazine India’s World in New Delhi, Jaishankar said a foreign policy aligned with the vision of a “Viksit Bharat” – a Developed India – would enable the country to seize opportunities in the world to claim a place in the new world order.
India’s Vision for a Developed Future
Viksit Bharat is a dream. A high ambition, but that would also require more than efforts at home; it has demanded for a strategic foreign policy said Jaishankar. If the dream is to work toward creation of Viksit Bharat, then such foreign policy must drive towards the direction of this ambition, noted Jaishankar further. Viksit Bharat actually represents India’s rise:.
He asserted that India’s foreign policy must evolve with the rising power and prestige of the country. To do so, India must have a holistic approach which would incorporate offense, defense, prudence, and hedging. Jaishankar added that India needs to be more aspirational, visionary, and aggressive in terms of international positioning.
Key Pillars of India’s Foreign Policy
Jaishankar identified various critical factors that will decide India’s foreign policy during the years ahead:
Re-globalization and Technological Impact: India should make the most of the re-globalization process, growing interdependence, and multipolarity. In doing so, technological change would be tapped into for enhanced diplomatic effectiveness.
Safe Borders and Terrorism: Jaishankar admits that secure borders and combating terrorism have always been issues for the country. They have been the issues of India for decades, and they remain a major part of the foreign policy agenda.
Economic Diplomacy: Of recent India is on its way to shift towards economic diplomacy. The attractions of technology, money, best practices, collaborations become extremely important for the national progress. As says Jaishankar, the better the country is moving on in economic diplomacy, the greater it is creating opportunities and also, at the same time, presenting new challenges for international cooperation.
Adapting to the Digital Era
One of the most striking points in Jaishankar’s speech was the need for foreign policy to adapt to a new digital world. Unlike the manufacturing age whose products were visible, with the digital age, things have changed. International relations have undergone a metamorphosis into what constitutes the digital products, such as data. This, therefore, calls for greater cooperation with other nations in building robust economies for their digital worlds.
He argues that it should now include securing digital infrastructure, data flows management, and building partnership with the tech space. It means India can now use all those opportunities presented by the digital economy to increase its influence in the world.
Supply Chain Resilience and Connectivity
Jaishankar also highlighted one very important area, that is, reformulation of the supply chain. India has scope to reshape supply chains in changing global dynamics in a more resilient and reliable manner. This goes in tandem with India’s foreign policy, but it offers a big opportunity for national development as well.
Resilient supply chains would help catapult the Indian manufacturing sector into a take-off zone, propelling technological advancement for India to emerge as an increasingly formidable player in the supply chain around the world. Connectivity projects, with those involving the India Middle East Economic Corridor and the International North-South Transport Corridor, which connect the landmass along with India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, have huge significance in cementing India’s global foothold.
India’s Growing Role in Geopolitics
This part of the vision of Jaishankar saw rising Indians also into roles of global geopolitics where the world looks toward the future leader in the event of crisis, an expectation set to rise further. It’s an expectation that can go only up as this rising expectation from India translates globally into the country facing and preparing itself for rising roles of leadership in an extended neighborhood and beyond.
Underlining that India’s future foreign policy has to be bold, smart, and long-term, he urged the nation to engage deeply with the world to accelerate its progress. “Think big, think long, but think smart,” he said.
Conclusion: India’s Global Future
In his speech, Jaishankar painted a clear picture of India’s future with being a global power. On its way are economic diplomacy, strengthening digital partnerships, reforming the supply chain with which a mighty force on the international stage comes about. Viksit Bharat is forging visionary and bold moves in international relations, and new dimensions of progress have opened out for fresh and new impulses of expansion into the arena of competition internationally.
As wisely said by Jaishankar, India must adopt the opportunities and challenges coming along with this fast-changing world. With its forward-looking foreign policy and its determined people, India is poised to be a developing nation which would head the 21st century in all the aspects.
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