India and Iceland established diplomatic relations in 1972, but ties remained limited for several decades, with both countries managing relations through missions in London and Oslo. The relationship gained momentum after India opened its resident embassy in Reykjavik in 2005, followed by Iceland’s resident mission in New Delhi.
The Agnipath scheme was launched by the Union Cabinet on 14th June 2022 approving an attractive recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces of India. The youth selected under this scheme are called Agniveers. (Press Information Bureau, 2022)
The Department of Military Affairs under the Ministry of Defence undertook this initiative to engage youthful forces in the Army of India. Hence, it is a new HR management scheme for Armed forces, where youth are recruited for a period of four years. (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, n.d.)
The modern international security context demands a reconsideration of the ideas and institutions that have traditionally governed statecraft and national security. Traditional security thinking focused primarily on state security, identifiable adversary states, military means, territorial defence, and deterrence.
Policy UpdateKavin Adithya C.B. Background The XVII BRICS Summit convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6-7, 2025, resulting in the Rio de Janeiro Declaration. The summit’s theme, “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance”…
India and Singapore completed 60 years of diplomatic relations in 2025, evolving into a strong Indo-Pacific partnership. Singapore supported India’s Look East and Act East policies, while the 2005 CECA strengthened economic ties. Singapore is now one of India’s largest FDI sources, with investments exceeding US$170 billion over two decades (High Commission of India in Singapore, 2026). The relationship was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2024.
India and Qatar have been sharing a close and mutually beneficial relationship with each other especially in the field of energy security, trade and people-to-people ties. However, this partnership has evolved significantly from the buyer-seller relationship in LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) to encompass cooperation in investment, infrastructure, technology, defence and regional security. Due to this partnership, Qatar still remains as India’s most important partner in the Gulf region, whereas India has been able to maintain its position as Qatar’s largest trading partner and a trusted source of skilled human resources.
The India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was established in 2022, to deepen cooperation between India and the European Union in the domains of trade, technology and geopolitics. The Council was designed in order to address emerging challenges such as supply chain vulnerabilities, digital transformation, critical technologies and green disruptions. The first TTC meeting was held in Brussels in 2023 and the second meeting was held in New Delhi in February 2025.