Editorial Analysis

India must revive its leadership role in shaping the governance, sustainability, and security architecture of the Indian Ocean, guided by the principle “From the Indian Ocean, for the World."

The NSS 80th Round (2025) findings highlight a troubling trend in India’s basic schooling landscape: despite constitutional guarantees the Right to Free and Compulsory Education for all children aged 6 to 14 years under Article 21A and policy ambitions (National Education Policy 2020), household expenditure on education is rising, and access is becoming increasingly unequal due to growing reliance on private schools and coaching .

India’s inbound tourism is gradually recovering but remains below the pre-pandemic peak of 10.93 million in 2019, highlighting persistent challenges ranging from global travel hesitancy to domestic infrastructural and environmental constraints.

India’s electoral integrity is under strain not due to a lack of reforms, but because of potentially deformative measures such as Delimitation, One Nation One Election (ONOE), and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to a recent United Nations report, the Countries across the Asia-Pacific region face unequal starting points, highlighting deep divides in digital and economic readiness.

India’s approach to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), currently focused on seeking exemptions, needs to evolve into a proactive carbon pricing strategy to secure long-term trade competitiveness, fiscal stability, and climate leadership.

India needs to recalibrate its export strategy including market diversification, diplomatic engagement, and on-ground business development to navigate rising global trade headwinds and maintain competitiveness.

India’s bioeconomy needs capital-market innovation, regulatory modernisation and strategic blend of innovation toachieve $1.2 trillion by 2047.