Category Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies

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SAIL’s Defence-Grade Steel Supply: Advancing India’s Defence Indigenisation

India has undergone a significant change especially in the defence sector over the past few years mainly due to important indigenous manufacturing schemes like the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and the Make In India initiative. The main objective of such initiatives is to reduce dependence on imported defence equipment and raw materials while at the same time, strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities and India’s most priced foreign policy principle, Strategic Autonomy.Defence-grade steel is a strategic resource as it is essential for manufacturing critical military platforms such as warships, submarines, armoured vehicles, and missiles.

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India’s Defence Export Diplomacy: Implementing the India–Philippines BrahMos Missile Agreement (2024–2026)

The India-Philippines Brahmos Missile Agreement is known to be one of the major landmark developments in India’s development as a credible Defence exporter and strategic security partner in South-East Asia. The agreement, being signed in 2022 through a contract worth approximately 375 million dollars, marked India’s first ever export of the BrahMOS missile cruise system. The implementation phase gained momentum during 2024-2026 with the successful delivery of missile batteries, deployment support, operator training and sustained bilateral defence cooperation. The agreement also further reflects India’s broader objective of combining defence manufacturing capabilities with foreign policy to strengthen strategic partnerships under the Act East Policy and the vision of the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). 

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India-Australia Uranium Deal and India’s Future in Nuclear Energy

Nations worldwide are transitioning rapidly from fossil fuels to clean energy sources as global energy policies are changing. Uranium is one of those clean energy sources that is getting a lot of demand on the international level to replace fossil fuels. Uranium is seen as a fuel source that has the capability to replace coal or gas. It is widely used for producing electricity as a more efficient source than coal and gas, which emit CO₂. Currently, through uranium, around 9% of the world’s electricity is produced (World Nuclear Association, 2026). Countries like Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea and Ukraine get 30% or more of their electricity generated through uranium, while 70 % of the electricity in France is generated through it (World Nuclear Association, 2026).

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The US-Iran War and Syria’s Changing Strategic Significance

Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa, aka Mohammed Al Julani, is trying to navigate a difficult regional dynamic, especially in the Levant, as the conflict continues to escalate on several fronts, from Lebanon to Gaza to Israel to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran. Through smart diplomacy, Al Sharaa was not only able to divest himself of his past credentials but also endeared himself to President Donald Trump, who lifted the $10 million bounty on his head.

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The End of the US-Iran War Marks the Beginning of a New Struggle

The Iran, US and Israel war has taken so many twists and turns, and the public display of Trumpian outbursts, Iranian calculations and Israeli defiance of any diktat or deal have the potential to derail the 14-point or clause Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed while Donald Trump was having dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron at Versailles and the Iranian President was signing it away from Tehran.

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India–Sweden Strategic Partnership: The Joint Action Plan (2026-2030)

India-Sweden relations had been steadily deepening for close to a decade before the 2026 upgrade, anchored by the first India-Sweden Joint Action Plan (2018), the India-Sweden Innovation Partnership, and joint leadership of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) since 2019, alongside existing defence and technology dialogues that had already given the relationship real substance.

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