Editorial Analysis

India’s Neighbourhood First Policy (NFP) has completed one decade recently. This milestone has triggered debates on whether the policy has strengthened India’s regional leadership or whether structural and geopolitical challenges have limited its success.

A major policy shift outlined in India’s Economic Survey 2025–26 focuses on ‘strategic indispensability’ in Global Value Chains (GVCs), reframing how India should approach industrial growth in a rapidly changing global economy.

Recent disruptions in India’s aviation sector like the Ahmedabad plane crash in June 2025 and large-scale IndiGo flight cancellations and delays in December 2025, exposed deeper structural risks that the problem is no longer temporary or airline-specific.

Global concern over nuclear security has intensified with the expiry of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia. 

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a discussion paper seeking public comments on issuing new licences for cooperative banks.

Global climate governance has gained renewed attention due to repeated shortfalls in international climate negotiations, particularly at recent Conferences of the Parties (COPs).

In the Union Budget 2026-27, the government has placed greater emphasis on the debt-to-GDP ratio, instead of focusing narrowly on the annual fiscal deficit.

Recently, the Union Budget 2026-27 proposed an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore over the next five years in Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies.

The Union Budget 2026-27 signals a strategic shift from allocating funds for technology growth to building complete technology ecosystems, with equal emphasis on infrastructure, manufacturing, and human capital for India’s deep tech ecosystem.

Recently, the Report of the 16th Finance Commission, Chaired by Dr Arvind Panagariya, was tabled in Parliament for the five-year period between 2026-27 and 2030-31.