Changes In Indian Foreign Policy

The new government elected in 2014 in India has led to strategic shift in India's foreign policy. These changes can be enumerated as:

1. "India First" approach
• Probably for the first time Indian PM has explained India's economic and technological objectives abroad i.e India First.
• Specific role identified for each country for achieving these objectives. Basic sanitation, defence and space technology.
2. Greater orientation of domestic and foreign policies toward those objectives
• decisions based on a cost benefit analysis on a defined set of parameters, not on ideological consideration.
3. Emphasis on overall national power
• clearer appreciation of external threat.
• Deterrence is only effective if the adversary is convinced that new government will respond to asymmetric warfare with appropriate action spread across a much broader spectrum of conventional and unconventional options.
• heightened conventional response to border firing/ ceasefire violations by Pakistan. 
• Mc Mohan highway along LAC in Arunachal Pradesh to counter unconventional psychological warfare and "creeping annexation" by China. 
• Focus on self sufficiency in defence production. 
4. Greater emphasis on Soft Power
• Indian PM Madision Square speech in New York, US, MCG ground speech in Australia. 
• Promotion of Yoga - pitch for International Yoga Day.
5. Freeing up of self imposed, historical and mental constraints on developing the relation with any country to its full potential
• India's economic relation with potential adversary can be independent of its security relations. 
•  Economic agreements between India and China. 
• India joining New Development Bank (BRICKS Bank), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).  These groupings generally seen as to counter developed nations. On the other hand India is collborating with US and many European countries. 
• Increased defence cooperation with Vietnam inspite of reservations shown by China. 
• Relation with one country will not be constrained by relation with other. 
• Cooperation with China will not affect relation with Japan. 

Overall all a much confident, credible and effective national security and foreign policy is expected to emerge.