Despite a strategic engagement that has brought the two countries into closer convergence, the US does not always expect India to toe its line and recognises New Delhi's strategic autonomy, a top official has said.
Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan urges Indian startups to focus on deep technology and advanced manufacturing to ensure strategic autonomy.
India's dual pursuit of a robust strategic partnership with Washington and a pragmatic, tension-management policy with Beijing represents the essence of modern multi-alignment. By embracing economic pragmatism, learning to compartmentalize political differences, and engaging in continuous dialogue, India can secure its borders, grow its economy, and contribute to a stable, multipolar Asian century, points out Ambassador Rajasekhar.
Daniel Twining, a consultant to the US government on international security matters and a former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, has described as "a canard," the contention in some circles, both in New Delhi and Washington that the United States "somehow wants to undermine India's strategic autonomy."
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has emphasised the need for India to develop a robust drone manufacturing ecosystem to enhance its defence capabilities, drawing lessons from recent global conflicts.
Experts at a discussion in Delhi emphasised the importance of ethical governance and indigenous capability in India's pursuit of becoming a global artificial intelligence power, ensuring technology serves the public good and maintains strategic autonomy.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has emphasised the need for India to develop a robust drone manufacturing ecosystem, drawing lessons from recent global conflicts and highlighting the importance of self-reliance in drone technology.
The US-China rapprochement, however tenuous, is not without implications for India. Both China and Pakistan have become closer to the US, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
India has firmly denied allegations that the US Navy is using its ports to launch attacks against Iran, reaffirming its commitment to strategic autonomy and non-alignment in international conflicts.
The Beijing summit may have reduced immediate diplomatic uncertainty, but it did not resolve the deeper structural contest between the United States and China. That contest appears likely to define the coming decade, notes Varun Arya.
While the Andaman and Nicobar islands serve as a vital, stationary asset for projecting power in the Indian Ocean, referring to them as an unsinkable aircraft carrier ignores key military and geopolitical limitations, explains Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
India is the only significant power that all parties trust, or at least do not distrust, notes former defence secretary Ajay Kumar.
The Congress on Sunday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the US' statements after three Indian sailors were killed in American attacks on ships, with party leader Rahul Gandhi saying the "compromised PM" listens "like an obedient servant" and "complies with the orders".
A tech firm has delivered to the Army 106 turbojet-powered kamikaze drones designed to engage high-value targets deep inside enemy territory and operate in contested electromagnetic environments, according to a statement.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday warned that the world is witnessing a fundamental 'rupture' in the global order rather than a gradual transition, cautioning against weaponising trade, finance, and supply chains.
Delhi LG Taranjit Singh Sandhu addressed the Global Confluence 2026, emphasising the importance of maintaining a human element at the heart of digital nation-building. He highlighted India's digital transformation and the role of technology in improving lives, while urging a focus on inclusive development and national security.
India would confront a more entrenched China, a less dependable United States, and a regional order increasingly shaped by great-power bargaining over which it exercises limited influence, notes Amberish K Diwanji.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has asked the finance ministry to spell out a clear legal strategy, including options such as a "golden share" or indirect control structures, to maintain strategic oversight in public sector entities if state ownership falls below 51 per cent.
A senior US official has emphasised India's crucial role in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and ensuring a balanced power dynamic in Asia, advocating for stronger defence ties between the two nations.
By appearing to privilege ideological affinity over strategic balance, India risks eroding the trust painstakingly built across West Asia. Once the perception takes hold that India's friendship is conditional and transactional, rebuilding credibility will be difficult, warns Amberish K Diwanji.
Nobody takes Pakistan seriously and therefore Pakistan's sudden mediating with almost immediate results of a ceasefire seems more contrived than real, points out Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
In a region increasingly shaped by competition and coercion, such collaboration strengthens security without confrontation, builds capacity without dependency and promotes order without domination, points out Dr Kumar.
US-based Redwood Software has inaugurated its global centre in Hyderabad, designating it as its primary operational location. The centre will focus on AI-powered automation and aims to enhance Redwood's ability to manage operations across hybrid IT environments. Redwood plans to hire over 300 new employees by the end of 2027.
Through his commitment to democratic norms, debate, dissent and constitutionalism, Jawaharlal Nehru helped ensure that parliamentary democracy took deep root in independent India. Utkarsh Mishra evaluates Nehru's 17 years as India's first prime minister, examining his role in nation-building, democratic institution-building, economic planning, scientific advancement and foreign policy.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assures India's energy security amidst West Asia tensions, highlighting naval protection of tankers and readiness to counter cross-border terrorism.
India and France have renewed their 10-year defence cooperation agreement and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the joint manufacturing of Hammer missiles in India, marking a significant step in strengthening their strategic partnership.
According to the Economic Survey 2026, the appropriate stance for 2026 is therefore one of strategic sobriety rather than defensive pessimism.
The BJP has criticised the Congress party for allegedly prioritising its vote bank and outdated ideologies over India's national interest and citizen safety in its foreign policy approach towards Iran.
Delhi should keep all its options open in what is essentially a transitional period in the geopolitics of energy rather than remain a gatekeeper serving Trump's 'America First', suggests Ambasssador M K Bhadrakumar.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
We cannot simply have a 60-65 per cent import dependency in LPG, the bulk of which comes from just one volatile region -- West Asia, points out R Jagannathan.
A bewildered world is at a loss to find bilateral and multilateral measures to stop President Trump from pursuing his vision of a world unabashedly dominated by the United States, points out T P Sreenivasan.
The Indian government is planning to develop an unmanned combat search and rescue aircraft for the Indian Air Force, designed to operate autonomously and in challenging terrains.
Trump may strike. He may announce productive talks and extend again. He may do both at the same time. Iran will not open the Strait on someone else's terms, so no matter what happens, that problem will remain unsolved. And the IRGC will still be collecting its $2 million toll from every ship bold enough to ask permission to pass.
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
The Indian government has launched the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) with a total outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore, aiming to leverage private and market finance for urban infrastructure projects by providing state support in capacity building and credit guarantees.
India's handling of the Iran crisis reflects a growing strain between strategic autonomy and geopolitical alignment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The entire US ecosystem built over decades at the bases in the Gulf region, especially the UAE, costing trillions of dollars have been decimated, dealing a mortal blow to the US Central Command's war capability,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
A trade deal makes sense only if it is fair and reciprocal. If the cost is strategic dependence or loss of policy space, waiting is the wiser option, asserts Ajay Srivastava.
