What if I told you, from today onwards, your name would be different, something similar, but not the same. It won’t be the one that you recognise and identify with, it won’t be the one you learned the meaning of, it won’t be the one you keep telling people when they ask you who you are. Why? Just because I have the right to. This right doesn’t stem from any legal or written source but purely from entitlement. Illustration by The Geostrata Now, read this, as slowly as you can,

THE RISE OF FOREIGN-OWNED GCCS AND THE QUIET DECLINE OF INDIA'S IT GIANTS The story told about Indian IT is a story of disruption. Artificial intelligence, the argument goes, is automating the work that built a $224 billion export industry, the code-writing, the testing, the legacy migration, and the national champions that built it are scrambling to adapt. That story is true. It is also incomplete in a way that matters. Illustration by Geopolitics Next The more significant s

Women in India have steadily redrawn the boundaries of participation across society over the past few years. From breaking the patriarchal barriers of the household to entering laboratories, courtrooms, sports, and fighting roles that were once considered exclusively for men. From leadership positions to commanding roles in the Indian Armed Forces, women have broken glass ceilings and have reshaped workplace cultures themselves. Illustration by The Geostrata Their visibility

The Bay of Bengal has never been simply water. It is an opera of commerce, travel, and geopolitics. In it, 54 rivers transport not only their rich silt, but centuries-old grievances, and 4,156 kilometres of borders make neighbours into threats to national survival. However, among all the actors shaping this region at present, the most important may be one that did not occur in a military command centre, nor in a diplomatic negotiating room, but at a ballot box in West Bengal.

As great power rivalries intensify from the Arctic to West Asia, India and the Nordic countries are deepening cooperation across trade, technology, and geopolitics. PM Modi is visiting Oslo, Norway, for the third India-Nordic Summit in May 2026. Initiated in 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden, this engagement has, over the years, focused on innovation, technology, climate change, renewable energy, the blue economy, and maritime cooperation. Illustration by The Geostrata This year, the

There is a persistent illusion in international relations that states choose, once and for all, between idealism and realism. The foreign policies of India and the United States both demolish this illusion as these countries speak the language of universal values while simultaneously practising something far older and far less sentimental. Illustration by The Geostrata TWO FRAMEWORKS, ONE WORLD Let’s first explore the world of realism and idealism quickly. Immanuel Kant, in h

Over the course of history, as regions began to reflect individual power, warfare became inevitable. It became an accepted reality for society and a governing principle for the state. Across successive eras, warfare became synonymous with a kingdom's might, and adapting to new tactics became a timeless pattern. Illustration by The Geostrata As Chanakya cited in the Arthashastra, “He shall act as occasion demands.” India has diligently followed this principle throughout its t

India’s next fighter decision is usually described as a contest between two aircraft. On one side is the Rafale F4 pathway: an upgraded French 4.5-generation combat system built around a fighter family the Indian Air Force already operates in earlier Rafale standards, and which India has also selected in naval form for the Indian Navy. On the other hand is Russia’s Su-57E, marketed as a fifth-generation stealth fighter and publicly offered to India with the possibility of dee

Operation Sindoor, which India launched last year in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, marked the defining moment in India’s counterterrorism response. In that 88-hour-long conflict, India redrew the lines of deterrence, making the harbours of terrorism know that no sanctuary of terror across the border is safe and India has the capability and resolve to destroy and hit everything. Illustration by The Geostrata Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery famously remarked, “

“The very ‘rules of war’ have changed. The role of nonmilitary means of achieving political and strategic goals has grown, and, in many cases, they have exceeded the power of force of weapons in their effectiveness.” ~ General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Illustration by The Geostrata The concept of warfare has been evolving, from ancient times to the current state of advanced technology-driven warfare. In the past

“As the global dynamics evolve, the neighbourhood around New Delhi has gained momentum to strengthen and modernise its democratic systems.” After the 2022 regime change in Sri Lanka, two other nation-states, Bangladesh and Nepal, have now undergone the same by establishing new governments. This political shift in India's neighbourhood has brought the opportunity for New Delhi to reset its ties and emerge as a more trusted partner in the subcontinent. Illustration by The Geost

India’s journey into the nuclear race is a unique chapter in modern geopolitics. India’s desire for scientifically independent developments caused the country’s “nuclear quest” to grow along two parallel lines: the use of nuclear energy for the economic development and growth of a large population, and creating a strong nuclear deterrent to guarantee the independence of the country. Illustration by The Geostrata As the world addresses the climate change emergency and is deali

On 12 December 2026, thirty years of structured water diplomacy between India and Bangladesh will formally expire as the Ganga Water Treaty, signed in 1996, is set to lapse. It started gaining momentum with the recent political changes in Dhaka, renewing debates over water sharing, taking it to the spotlight with urgency not seen in decades. Illustration by The Geostrata The renewal of this treaty is not merely a hydrological question. It is a barometer of the India-Banglades

For decades, Pakistan maintained its fundamental belief, which held that the Muslim Brotherhood of the Gulf would support Pakistan during any conflict with India over Kashmir. The financial connections to Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Doha served as economic lifelines for Islamabad. The Gulf states functioned as moral protectors in Islamabad's strategic vision. The Gulf would support the ummah when the moment arrived. The moment arrived, but the Gulf states did not respond. Illustra

Wages are a perennial issue in the Indian market, and this was exemplified during the recent labour unrest in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, during the month of April, which brought attention back to India's changing labour laws and the difficult realities of putting them into effect. What started as a protest over pay problems slowly turned into tense fights in some parts of the industrial area. There were reports of injuries and damage to public property, including cars being set on

In a significant push towards gender-equitable caregiving, the Supreme Court of India has directed the Parliament to frame a comprehensive law on paternity leave as a part of the social security benefit scheme that aims to protect a father's income, employment, and family well-being when he takes time off from work after the birth of or adoption of his child. This comes in the course of hearing a petition that was seeking maternity leave in case of adoption and opened up a la

Lauded for its diversity by the world, India hosts 6 major religions, over 50 recognised tribal faiths, and hundreds of other smaller indigenous traditions within its territory. As a way of preserving this myriad of faiths, personal laws have prevailed in the fabric of our legal structure since colonial times . Acting as a set of regulations governing private matters on grounds of religion, its need, and subsequent impact on national unity and complications in legal admin

India's capital allocation story has become increasingly imbalanced. Since 2016, public sector investment has increased because of large infrastructure projects, but private corporate capital spending has not caught up . From FY2020 to FY2024, government capital expenditures (capex) went up by 38.8% in total, but private gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) fell to about a 3rd of the GDP in 2024. Illustration by The Geostrata Companies have a lot of cash on their balance s

The European Union-India Free Trade Agreement (EU-India FTA), signed on January 27, 2026 after more than two decades of negotiations represents an inflection point in both trade and geopolitical priorities of the two partners. Cover by The Geostrata Using data from the WITS and COMEXT databases, this study employs a partial equilibrium model to estimate the expected change in EU exports of motor vehicles (HS-4 8703) and components (HS-4 8708) to India, outlining the expected

Greetings, everyone, We are happy to launch the 2025 edition of the Geomaga. In a way the year 2025 has been a year of national security. From Operation Sindoor against Pakistan to strikes on Myanmar and from technological advancements in the defence sector to the renewed focus on self-reliance, these are the broad spectrum of issues that have dominated the popular intellectual discourse throughout the year. Cover by The Geostrata In this edition of the Geomaga, we have inclu