Category Insights

Insights, a blog published by IMPRI.

New Age of Sino-Arab Relations

The Chinese approach gels rather well with the Arab World’s ‘Act East Policy’.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge for China, with unprecedented lockdowns and occasional horror stories of the origins and spread of COVID-19 and how it has been dealt with, leading to nationwide protests which have been partially successful in achieving the winding down of excessive COVID-19 restrictions. President Xi Jinping, emboldened after being crowned the third time by the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), did have the taste of people’s ire and his limitations as the Chinese economy was also being hurt and a downward trend was being noticed.

A Rising India: Sustaining the Growth Trajectory

This economic trajectory of India also gives India a distinct place in global politics today. There is a reason why the West, despite its differences with India over Ukraine, has continued to substantively engage with New Delhi. In fact, India's ties with the West have grown significantly amidst all the negative press India has received in the West. Where journalists remain prisoners of their short-term outlooks, policy-makers in the West recognize the real story -- the rise of India as a credible geopolitical and geo-economic player in the 21st century. 

RBI Affidavit Obfuscates rather than Clarifying

The government affidavit filed on November 16 justified demonetization by claiming that it was a part of a bigger policy push to digitize and formalize the economy – in its view a beneficial step. The affidavit, in paragraph 15 justifies the decision to demonetize the large denomination currency notes by stating that it was a “well-considered decision” taken after “extensive consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’) and advanced preparation”. The implication is that if the decision was wrong, it is the RBI’s (the expert’s) fault.

Major Power Contestation in New World Order: An Opportunity for India

To say that the year 2022 has been a tumultuous one would be an understatement. Even as the year comes to an end, Russia continues with its bombardment of Ukrainian cities, targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure with missiles and drones. The world’s second most powerful nation, China, is facing multiple pressures. In a matter of days, the Chinese Communist Party reversed its zero Covid policy as it came under pressure from the wider public that was tired of Xi Jinping’s strict Covid measures.

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