India and Other Regions, Diaspora and the Global Commons — UPSC International Relations Notes

1. Historical Foundations

Ancient Indian Ocean trade linked Gujarat and Malabar with the East African coast; Indian labour and traders migrated during colonial rule.

Gandhi's satyagraha in South Africa (1893–1914); India's early UN campaign against apartheid (1946) and support to liberation movements in Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

2. Institutional Framework

IAFS-I (New Delhi, 2008), IAFS-II (Addis Ababa, 2011), IAFS-III (New Delhi, 2015)—the third was the first to invite all 54 African countries and announced USD 10 billion in concessional credit and 50,000 scholarships.

IAFS-IV was scheduled for New Delhi on 28–31 May 2026, but a joint AU–India release (21 May 2026) described those dates as the 'initially scheduled' ones, and it was not held then.

Kampala Principles (2018): Ten guiding principles announced by PM Modi in Uganda's Parliament—development partnership driven by African priorities, local capacity, market access, and a free and open Indian Ocean.

3. Development Partnership

Lines of credit through EXIM Bank for power, water, railways and agriculture; ITEC training; the Duty-Free Tariff Preference scheme (2008) for least developed countries.

Digital links: Pan-African e-Network (2009) and its successor e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati (2019) for tele-education and tele-medicine; India Stack and UPI-type solutions offered as digital public infrastructure.

Health: affordable generic medicines; vaccines under Vaccine Maitri; IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar (Tanzania), India's first IIT abroad (2023).

4. Trade, Energy and Resources

India imports crude oil (Nigeria, Angola), gold, coal, phosphates, cashew and pulses; exports petroleum products, medicines, vehicles and machinery. Indian firms invest in telecom, mining and agriculture.

Critical minerals (cobalt, lithium, copper) in countries such as Zambia, DR Congo and Namibia are a growing focus; Namibia also sent cheetahs to Kuno (2022).

5. Maritime and Security Cooperation

SAGAR (2015), widened to MAHASAGAR in Mauritius (March 2025); the airstrip and jetty at Agalega (Mauritius, 2024); coastal radar chains; hydrographic surveys; anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since 2008.

AIKEYME (Africa–India Key Maritime Engagement, April 2025), co-hosted with Tanzania; India–Africa Defence Dialogue (since 2020); Indian peacekeepers serve in African UN missions (South Sudan, DR Congo).

6. India vs China in Africa

China's trade and lending dwarf India's; it builds large infrastructure via the BRI and FOCAC. India stresses capacity building, local employment and avoiding debt traps, but suffers from slow project delivery.

Irritants: attacks on African students in India, slow LoC disbursement, and the gap since the last summit (2015).

Practice

UPSC-style: 'India's development partnership with Africa is a counter-model to China's.' Critically examine.

1. Historical and Cultural Links

The Silk Route carried Buddhism, trade and ideas; the Kushan empire spanned both regions; Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty, came from the Fergana Valley (Uzbekistan).

Soviet-era ties: Indian films and culture were popular; the Tashkent Declaration (1966) ended the 1965 India–Pakistan war.

2. Policy Frameworks

Connect Central Asia (2012): political, economic, security, connectivity and cultural engagement; PM Modi visited all five republics in 2015.

India–Central Asia Dialogue (foreign ministers, first in Samarkand, 2019; the fourth in New Delhi, June 2025). India announced a USD 1 billion line of credit for the region (2020).

First India–Central Asia Summit (virtual, January 2022) agreed to hold summits every two years, set up a secretariat in New Delhi and a Joint Working Group on Chabahar. The second summit has not yet been held; India renewed its invitation in June 2025.

Four of the five (all except neutral Turkmenistan) are members of the SCO alongside India, which joined in 2017.

3. Energy and Economy

Kazakhstan is a major supplier of uranium to India and its largest trading partner in the region; Uzbekistan also signed a uranium supply deal.

TAPI gas pipeline (Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India) has been delayed for years by security and financing problems.

Trade remains small relative to potential; Indian medical students in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, pharmaceuticals, IT and tourism are growing links.

4. Connectivity

Chabahar port (Iran): India operates the Shahid Beheshti terminal; it offers access to Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan, but US sanctions on Iran create uncertainty.

INSTC (2000, India–Iran–Russia): a 7,200 km multimodal route from Mumbai to Russia via Iran and the Caspian region; India joined the Ashgabat Agreement (transport corridor via Iran and Turkmenistan) in 2018.

5. Security and Challenges

Shared concerns: terrorism, radicalisation and drug trafficking from Afghanistan; India–Central Asia NSA meetings on Afghanistan.

Challenges: no direct land route; Russia's traditional influence and China's dominant trade and BRI investments; Iran sanctions; low trade.

Practice

UPSC-style: 'Connectivity is the key constraint in India's Central Asia policy.' Discuss with reference to Chabahar and the INSTC.

1. Historical Context

Indentured labourers (girmitiyas) were taken to Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname and Jamaica from 1838; their descendants are now a large share of the population and have produced heads of government.

Distance, language and limited air and shipping links kept ties thin during the Cold War, though both regions shared NAM and Third World positions.

2. Brazil: The Anchor Partner

Strategic Partnership (2006); cooperation in BRICS, IBSA (India–Brazil–South Africa, 2003), BASIC (climate), G4 (UNSC reform) and the G20, where Brazil's 2024 presidency followed India's.

Ethanol and biofuels (Global Biofuels Alliance, 2023), agriculture, defence (Embraer aircraft), space and pharmaceuticals. PM Modi attended the BRICS summit in Rio and made a state visit to Brasília in July 2025.

3. Trade and Resources

India imports crude oil (Brazil, Guyana, Mexico, Colombia; earlier Venezuela), gold, copper, soybean oil and sunflower oil; exports medicines, motorcycles and cars, textiles, chemicals and IT services.

Critical minerals: KABIL signed a lithium exploration agreement in Argentina's Catamarca province (2024); Chile and Bolivia hold large lithium reserves; Chile and Peru are major copper producers.

Trade agreements: India–Mercosur PTA (in force 2009) with plans to expand it; India–Chile PTA with a CEPA under negotiation; FTA talks with Peru.

4. The Caribbean and Regional Bodies

India–CARICOM summits (the second in Georgetown, Guyana, November 2024) focus on climate resilience, health, digital public infrastructure and capacity building; dialogue with SICA (Central America) and CELAC.

Small island states are vulnerable to hurricanes and sea-level rise; India supports them through the ISA, CDRI and grants; Vaccine Maitri reached many Caribbean countries.

5. Challenges

Distance and high logistics costs; few direct flights; limited Indian diplomatic presence; China's far larger trade, loans and infrastructure footprint; political volatility and sanctions (Venezuela).

Practice

UPSC-style: 'Latin America is India's most under-tapped economic partner.' Discuss with reference to critical minerals and energy.

1. Background

Canada helped build India's CIRUS research reactor (1950s) but cut nuclear cooperation after the 1974 test, which India's critics said used plutonium from CIRUS; ties stayed cool for decades.

The Kanishka bombing (Air India Flight 182, 23 June 1985) by Khalistani terrorists based in Canada killed 329 people—the deadliest terror attack in Canadian history—and remains a symbol of India's concerns.

Revival after 2010: Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (2010); uranium supply contract with Cameco (2015); Strategic Partnership (2015).

2. The 2023–24 Crisis

In September 2023 PM Justin Trudeau told Parliament there were 'credible allegations' linking Indian agents to the June 2023 killing of Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India. India called the claims 'absurd and motivated' and asked for evidence.

India temporarily suspended visa services and asked Canada to reduce its diplomatic strength (October 2023); in October 2024 each side expelled six diplomats, including the high commissioners.

India's core concern: Canada's tolerance of Khalistani extremism—'referendums', threats to diplomats and glorification of terrorists—under the cover of free speech and vote-bank politics.

3. The Reset (2025–26)

PM Modi attended the G7 summit at Kananaskis (June 2025) on Carney's invitation; both agreed on calibrated steps, and high commissioners returned in August 2025.

In November 2025 the leaders agreed to launch negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) covering goods, services, investment, agriculture, digital trade and mobility.

Carney's official visit (27 February–2 March 2026) was the first bilateral visit to India by a Canadian PM since 2018. In October 2026 it was announced that PM Modi would visit Canada on 11–12 December 2026.

Drivers of the reset: US tariff pressures pushing both to diversify trade, Canada's need for new markets for energy and agriculture, and India's interest in uranium, critical minerals and investment.

4. Economic and People-to-People Ties

Canadian pension funds are among the largest foreign investors in Indian infrastructure; India imports pulses (lentils), potash, newsprint and uranium.

Indians have been among the largest groups of international students and new permanent residents in Canada, though Canada's caps on study permits (from 2024) have cut numbers.

Practice

UPSC-style: 'Diaspora politics can both build and break bilateral relations.' Discuss with reference to India–Canada relations.

1. Categories and Waves

NRI (Non-Resident Indian): an Indian citizen living abroad; PIO (Person of Indian Origin): a foreign citizen of Indian origin; the PIO card was merged into OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) in 2015.

OCI (from 2005, Section 7A of the Citizenship Act): lifelong visa and parity with NRIs in many economic matters, but no voting rights, no constitutional posts and no agricultural land purchase. It is not dual citizenship.

Waves: indentured labour (1834–1917) to Mauritius, Fiji, the Caribbean and Africa; post-war migration to the UK; professionals to the US, Canada and Australia (from the 1960s); workers to the Gulf (oil boom from the 1970s).

2. Significance

Remittances: India has been the world's top recipient; inflows of USD 135.46 billion in 2024–25 formed over 10% of gross current-account receipts, cushioning the trade deficit.

Soft power and lobbying: Indian-Americans helped build support for the 2008 nuclear deal; diaspora leaders in politics, business and technology shape views of India.

Knowledge and investment: 'brain gain' through returning entrepreneurs, venture capital, and NRI deposits; diaspora networks support India's IT and start-up growth.

3. Institutions and Schemes

L.M. Singhvi High Level Committee (2001) led to Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (9 January, marking Gandhi's return from South Africa in 1915), held since 2003 and biennially since 2015; the 18th PBD was held in Bhubaneswar (January 2025).

Welfare: Indian Community Welfare Fund (2009) for distressed workers; MADAD portal for consular grievances; e-Migrate for regulated recruitment; Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (insurance for ECR workers); Know India Programme and scholarships for diaspora youth.

Evacuations: Vande Bharat Mission (COVID-19, 2020), Operation Ganga (Ukraine, 2022), Kaveri (Sudan, 2023), Ajay (Israel, 2023) and Sindhu (Iran and Israel, 2025).

Law: the Emigration Act, 1983 regulates recruitment and sets Emigration Check Required (ECR) rules for less-educated workers going to specified (mostly Gulf) countries; NRIs can register as overseas electors (since 2011) but must vote in person.

4. Issues

Gulf workers: the kafala sponsorship system, wage theft, passport confiscation, poor housing, deaths of workers; some Gulf states have reformed kafala.

Visa and immigration curbs: US H-1B restrictions (a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions from September 2025), caps on student permits in Canada, Australia and the UK.

Other: fraudulent recruiters and human trafficking (including into cyber-scam centres in Southeast Asia and illegal routes to the US), brain drain, and extremist politics in sections of the diaspora (Khalistan).

Practice

UPSC-style: 'The Indian diaspora is a strategic asset, but also a responsibility.' Discuss with reference to remittances, soft power and evacuation diplomacy.

1. UNCLOS: Maritime Zones

Adopted 1982, in force 1994; India ratified in 1995. Bodies: ITLOS (Hamburg), the International Seabed Authority (Kingston, Jamaica) and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Zones from baselines: territorial sea 12 nautical miles (full sovereignty, with innocent passage); contiguous zone 24 nm (customs, immigration, sanitation); EEZ 200 nm (sovereign rights over resources); continental shelf up to 350 nm; beyond lies the high seas and 'the Area' (seabed, common heritage of mankind).

India's Maritime Zones Act, 1976 mirrors these zones; India holds that other states need its consent for military exercises in its EEZ.

India accepted the 2014 arbitral award on the India–Bangladesh maritime boundary, and supports a rules-based order in the South China Sea, citing the 2016 arbitral award in the Philippines' case.

2. Seabed and High Seas

India was the first country to be registered as a 'pioneer investor' (1987) and holds ISA contracts for polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin and polymetallic sulphides on the Indian Ocean ridge; the Deep Ocean Mission (2021) includes the crewed submersible Matsya-6000 (Samudrayaan).

The BBNJ Agreement (adopted 2023) on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction—marine protected areas on the high seas, sharing benefits from marine genetic resources, environmental impact assessments—entered into force on 17 January 2026. India signed in 2024 and has begun domestic steps towards ratification.

3. India and the Arctic

India signed the Svalbard Treaty (1920) as part of the British Empire; its research station Himadri (2008) is at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (Norway); the IndARC underwater observatory was deployed in Kongsfjorden in 2014.

Arctic Council (1996, Ottawa Declaration): eight Arctic states and indigenous Permanent Participants; India became an observer in 2013.

India's Arctic Policy (March 2022), 'India and the Arctic: building a partnership for sustainable development', rests on six pillars: science and research; climate and environmental protection; economic and human development; transportation and connectivity; governance and international cooperation; and national capacity building.

Why it matters: Arctic warming affects the Indian monsoon and sea levels; melting ice opens the Northern Sea Route and access to hydrocarbons and minerals, raising great-power competition (Russia, China's 'near-Arctic state' claim).

4. India and Antarctica

Antarctic Treaty (1959, in force 1961): Antarctica for peaceful purposes and science only, territorial claims frozen; the Madrid Protocol (1991) bans mineral mining. India joined and gained consultative status in 1983.

Stations: Dakshin Gangotri (1983, now a supply base), Maitri (1989, Schirmacher Oasis) and Bharati (2012, Larsemann Hills); expeditions since 1981–82 are run by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa.

Indian Antarctic Act, 2022: applies Indian law to Indian expeditions and activities in Antarctica; requires permits; bans mining, nuclear explosions and waste disposal; sets up the Committee on Antarctic Governance and Environmental Protection and an Antarctic Fund; designates courts to try offences.

India hosted the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Kochi (May 2024).

Practice

UPSC-style: 'Though geographically distant, the polar regions are vital to India's national interest.' Discuss with reference to India's Arctic Policy and the Indian Antarctic Act, 2022.