India"s Foreign Policy Modi 2.0: Challenges and Opportunities

Indo-Pacific has become the pivot of the global politics and the salience of the region is bound to increase in the foreseeable future. India"s profile has rapidly grown since the end of Cold War and now India is being considered an important country in shaping the power equilibrium within the Indo-Pacific in particular and at the global level in general. The security architecture has remained turbulent in the region and in this prevailing scenario India has the golden opportunity to maximize its national interests. The phenomenal rise of China in the region and its diverging interests with India and many other important countries within the region have further complicated the security situation. India had a coalition government from 1989 till 2014. The 2014 General elections gave a thumping majority to Modi-led BJP. This government has performed excellently on the foreign policy front in its first tenure and has contributed as a motivating factor in the return of Modi government with a bigger majority in May 2019. At this juncture, India needs to reformulate its policies to cope up with the emerging situation. PM Modi is considered a strong leader and has adopted a pro-active foreign policy. But now, India has to reformulate its foreign policy in a structural manner to cope up with changing global power structure. It offers both challenges and opportunities to the Narendra Modi-led NDA-3 government.