India foreign policy is experiencing a heartfelt shift from post-1991, The country is now taking a more confident and proactive stance in line with its goal of becoming a developed nation Viksit Bharat by 2047. The recent parliamentary statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which he acknowledged the declining effectiveness of international organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and NATO in the face of increasing U.S. and Chinese competition and transactional-based geopolitics, has attracted considerable attention..
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Key highlights
- Shifting Global Order
- Reframing Strategic Autonomy in Multilateral Systems
- Developing Capabilities Internally in India
- Diversifying India’s Economic Engagement
- India needs to Increase Trade Partnerships
- Pursuing Viksit Bharat 2047
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The article “India’s Foreign Policy in a Fragmented World” highlights the modern global politics of multilateralism. International organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and other climate forums are finding it hard to remain relevant due to the growing competition among the great powers and transactional diplomacy. This disintegration challenges the conventionally unanimous procedures and forces the states to adjust their approaches to foreign policy. In the case of India, it stands at a relatively high cost; whereas exercising strategic freedom and going on the offensive, the need to diversify economic relations and strengthen endogenous capacities is especially important in protecting national interests. Making the goals of the foreign policy the same as the goals of developmental aspirations represented in Viksit Bharat 2047, thus poses a necessity in the face of a increasingly uncertain international environment. In the case of India, the subversion of multilateralism can be of decisive importance, necessitating a reconsideration of strategic autonomy, diversification of trade relationships, and the development of domestic capabilities to achieve the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
India’s Strategic Realignment in a Changing Global Order
India’s foreign policy is navigating a fragmented, multipolar world by shifting from traditional non-alignment to a proactive. The world is in the process of a fundamental shift, with multilateral institutions diluting and transactional-based geopolitics taking over. As a focal point of the great power struggles, India is forced to accommodate this changing environment.
Erosion in Multilateral Institutions
Major institutions are in a state of paralysis, as the United Nations and World Trade Organization are side-lined, and their usual dispute-resolution functions are bypassed, and their consensus-building powers diminish. To illustrate that, the United States has gradually marginalized the processes of the WTO, but China has expanded its trade and become the main partner of over 120 nations. This degradation undermines the ability to solve problems in small groups in matters of global concern, like global security and climate change.
Emerging Stronger Politics and Regional Engagements
The post 1991 liberal order has facilitated a move in favour of bilateral settlements and regional alliances. The rise of China, demonstrated by the dominance of China in four major UN agencies, has restructured the institutional politics and weakened the status of India as an intellectual power in the global negotiations. At the same time, the suitability of NATO is dubious, with regional blocs like BRICS and ASEAN gaining momentum.
Implications for India
The dependence of India on Chinese imports and the decline of multilateral protection explain why India faces a high risk of vulnerability. The shift makes India diversify its trade relations, enhance domestic potential, and seek issue-based coalitions instead of relying solely on strategic independence. This kind of recalibration is necessary to protect the national interests and to balance between the foreign-policy goals and the developmental goals like Viksit Bharat 2047.
Reframing Strategic Autonomy in Multilateral Systems
The deterioration of the multilateral systems, coupled with the growth of tension between the great powers, is challenging India with its long-standing dependence on strategic freedom. In this regard, it is urgent to recalibrate the strategy of nations to protect the national interests as well as the developmental interests.
Defensive to Proactive Indian Foreign Policy Autonomy
Traditionally, Indian foreign policy has focused on non-alignment and non-dependence on major blocs. New words by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament, however, suggest that the modern world order requires a shift towards active, interest-based coalitions that would confirm the actions of diplomacy to the goals of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Developing Capabilities Internally in India
Strategic autonomy of the present should be made based on domestic capacity. A strategy of moving towards indigenous military manufacturing and technological breakthroughs is reflected in the Union Budget 2026, which upgraded defence capital expenditure by over 13 percent. In line with this, the investments in semiconductor fabrication and renewable energy are aimed at increasing resilience to external shocks.
Multi-Alignment and Institutional Resilience
The foreign-policy orientation of India has continued to shift towards multi-alignment, and India works simultaneously with the Quad, BRICS, and the European Union. Empirical studies have shown that diversification in trade, such as persistence in talks on an EU free-trade agreement, will decrease the reliance on China, which is still the largest import partner of India. The continuations in foreign policy through political transitions become institutional strength built through political consensus.
Implications for the Future of India
Autonomy is reformulated to mean a process of balancing between independence and pragmatic partnerships. Through these strategies, India could change its strategic autonomy from a defensive stance to a leadership tool that would enhance its strategic options and alliances in global leadership.
Diversifying India’s Economic Engagement
The leeway of the economic diplomacy of India is becoming limited more with the need to restrain its weaknesses and to expand opportunities in a disjointed global market. With that said, trade and investment diversification has become one of the core principles of the strategy.
India needs to Increase Trade Partnerships
Between November 2024 and November 2025, the growth in India's exports was 15.52 percent, starting with a level of USD 64.05 billion and reaching USD 73.99 billion due to the new free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Oman. Continuation of the talks with the EU and other regions also expands the trade footprint of India.
India needs to Securing the Supply Chains
India has 217 partners in its present trade network, which covers 93 percent of the global markets, as the country has nearly 30 free-trade agreements. The spread of the importation of goods, including petroleum (Russia and Saudi Arabia), electronics (China), and gold (United Arab Emirates) are an illustration of how the country has sought to reduce the chance of depending on a single location.
Leveraging Indian Green and Digital Economy
The diversification of exports has gone sectoral as well. The engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, and electronic products have now reached 57 percent of the exports in India and digital services and investments made in renewable energy sources place the nation in a top position to sustain its growth.
Pursuing Viksit Bharat 2047
The desire of India to be ranked among developed countries by 2047 would require the foreign policy to play a pivotal role in driving the economy into growth, developing resilience, and becoming a global leader, inclusive of a fragmented world order.
Foreign Policy as a Developmental Tool for India
The Viksit Bharat 2047 agenda aims for a USD 30 trillion economy in 2047, thus necessitating a growth of cumulative investments of 14.7 to 22.7 trillion dollars, depending on the climate commitments. As a result, the foreign policy should be aligned with the economic transformation of the country, where the transfer of technology, cooperation in energy, and the encouragement of capital flows should be observed.
Championing Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in India
NITI Aayog roadmap indicates that India can become developed and also reach Net-Zero by 2070 by large-scale use of renewable energy, wide electrification, and a change in behaviour as part of the Mission LiFE program. Climate justice, fair financial systems, and access to important mineral resources should, therefore, be at the centre of diplomacy to maintain growth.
Harnessing Soft Power and Diaspora Networks
The cultural capital of India and the community of approximately 32 million people can serve as a source of trade, innovation, and influence. The India-Kuwait Dialogues and other projects under the Viksit Bharat 2047 format are one of the examples of how soft power can be used to strengthen alliances beyond the economic factor.
Future Projections for India
By merging foreign policy and the requirements of development, India is likely to gain access to key resources, influence international conventions, and demonstrate inclusive leadership. It is a comprehensive philosophy that supports resilience, which puts India as an engine of fair world development by 2047.
Conclusion
Multilateralism is eroding, and transactional geopolitics is gaining prominence therefore, it is time for India's to restructure its foreign policy. Strategic autonomy should develop into active multi-alignment that is based on endogenous abilities and diversified economic relationships. Balancing the developmental needs with diplomacy, India will be able to protect the national interests and promote the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. This form of holistic recalibration makes India a strong, inclusive, and powerful force in the formation of the future world order.