There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies in international relations. Permanent is only your supreme national interests. The foreign policy of a country is aimed to protect its supreme national interest.

The Foreign policy of India traces its roots to the ancient times when Ashoka and other great kings sent their messengers far and wide for the propagation of Buddhism and Jainism, without resorting to armed invasion. Today the policy is rooted in India’s civilization and traditions and in India’s struggle for freedom.

India's foreign policy, defined by Nehru as nonaligned, was based on the "Five Principles" (Panch Shila). These principles were, ironically, articulated in a treaty with China over Tibet in 1954.

India's foreign policy has been officially one of nonalignment with any of the world's major power blocs.

The country was a founding member of the Nonaligned Movement and has remained one of its prominent leaders.

India has also been a major player among the group of more than 100 low-income countries, loosely described as "the South," that have sought to deal collectively in economic matters with the industrialized states of "the North."

Indiahas maintained its membership in the Commonwealth (formerly, the British Commonwealth of Nations), and in 1950 it became the first Commonwealth country to change from a dominion to a republic.

It was a charter member, even though not yet independent, of the United Nations (as it was of the League of Nations) and has played an active role in virtually all the organs within the United Nations system.

In 1985 India joined six neighboring countries in launching the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Challenges India's Foreign Policy is facing

These are some of the challenges facing Indian foreign policy:

• Major issue-based challenges include, terrorism and security of the country, energy security, food, and water security, climate change, and the Indian diaspora’s welfare among others. On the security front, Indian Foreign policy has a twofold objective. The first part is to create national defense capabilities to protect India’s unity and territorial integrity. The second part of the policy is to push for nuclear disarmament and propound initiatives that can take the cause further.
• The fast rate of growing Indian economy demands more energy resources. India already lacks petroleum and good-quality coal.
• Agriculture is more or less stagnant in India. Water is said to be the resource of the 21st century. Although the resource is sufficient in the South Asian region proper cooperation of neighboring countries in sharing correct hydrological data has to be ensured on a priority basis.
• Climate change remains the major challenge. Developing countries including India wants a larger share of cut from their side in greenhouse gas emission because they have already used the environment and resources for reaching to the level of development where they are. On the other hand, developed countries want to have bounded commitments from devel­oping countries for greenhouse gas reduction. India stands for “com­mon but differentiated” responsibility, no quantitative restriction, and NAPCC. It also believes that still, its per capita greenhouse emission rate is very low, so it should not be bundled with developed countries for greater reduction targets.
• Recent time has seen violence against people of Indian origin in many countries, especially in South-East Asian countries like Malaysia and Fiji. There are also cases of abduction and torture of non-resident Indians in Afghanistan and Gulf countries. The diplomatic efforts must be to ensure that the rights of Indian Diasporas are protected. Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas and the decision to offer Dual citizenship to persons of Indian origin will go a long way in meeting these challenges.
• Peace and security in our neighborhood and in our region as a whole
• The combat against international terrorism presents an immense challenge
• Energy security, creating favorable conditions for our economic development
• Coping with the consequences of instability of military conflict in the Middle East
• The reform of the Security Council, promoting multi-polarity
• Meeting the country’s interests in the era of globalization
• finding an adequate response to doctrines diluting the principles of sovereignty and seeking to establish the right to intervene 
• promoting a more equitable equation between the developed and the developing world in the political, economic, and technological domains

Factors affecting India's relations

• As the second most populous country and the world's most-populous democracy and recently has had one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world. With the world's tenth-largest military expenditures, and eleventh-largest economy by nominal rates or fourth-largest by purchasing power parity, India is a regional power and a potential global power. It is India's growing international influence that increasingly gives it a more prominent voice in global affairs.
• The foreign policy of any country is not determined by any single factor. It is a result of the mutual interaction of several elements, which affect foreign policy in many ways.

Basic Principles

• India’s foreign policy is determined largely in accordance with the ideals of our freedom struggle Gandhian philosophy and the fundamental principle of the Indian tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam. The lesson of peace, non-Violence, tolerance and mutual co-existence have been historical traditions of India that it has been a supporter of world peace and it never intended to invade other states.
• The impact of Liberalism, Socialism, and Gandhism is clearly visible in India's foreign policy. The personality of Nehru had a deep impact on our foreign policy who was deeply impressed by the liberal democratic ideology of the Western countries, yet he was also influenced by the Soviet Union’s economic policies. Nehru propounded the Pancheel which still guides the foreign policy of our country. These Principles are:

1. Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
2. Mutual non-aggression
3. Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs
4. Equality and mutual benefit
5. Peaceful co-existence

• After the death of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, some changes did occur in the foreign policy of India under Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Sh. Desai, Sh.Rajeev Gandhi, Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee etc represents a new pragmatism in foreign policy. The twenty-first century has seen the rise of other factors like economic interests, energy security, and geostrategic considerations which have affected the foreign policy of our country in the contemporary world.
• Thus, the end of the Cold War saw India replace the idealism in its foreign policy with a pragmatic approach, as it sought to develop new and meaningful relationships that would aid its global ascendancy. Foreign policy has to be changed in the national interests and in the changed conditions. Today India has developed good relations with America, Africa, etc. and India is an active member of the coalition against terrorism formed by America. Besides this India has entered into a nuclear agreement with America which is in the interests of India. India is paying special attention to the development of relations with Southeast countries also known as the Look East Policy. India is making, SAARC effective and is paying special attention to the' member countries of ASEAN. The national interest of India is in the fact that unity, integrity, and freedom of Asian countries be protected and strengthened.

Geographical Situation

The foreign policy of a country is greatly influenced by its geographical situation. This element is important in varying degrees for India's national politics and foreign relations. India is a vast country in Asia, surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean and by the Himalayas and their ranges in the North. The boundary of India touches China, Nepal, and Bhutan in the North, with Pakistan in the West and across it Afghanistan and Iran Bangladesh, and Myanmar in the East, and Sri Lanka in the South. Geography is an important determinant of India's foreign policy. India and most, of its neighboring countries, will take a long time to attain the technological level of the superpowers. Hence, it will not be possible for India in the foreseeable future to ignore the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean from the viewpoint of either her trade or transportation or that of defence. Friendly relations with the neighboring countries are very essential for the development of the country and India has always tried to establish friendly relations with its neighboring countries. So geography affects the foreign policy of India. India in a sense a major connecting link among the geographical areas called West Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia or the Far East.

The location also affects the state's culture and the economy as well as its military and economic power. Location tends to make a nation, a land power, or a sea power.

India's strategic location at the center of the Asian arc and the Indian Ocean logically made India the bastion- of the 'British empire in the East. The manpower, wealth, and strategic advantage of India were used, by Britain to establish and maintain her politico-military dominance over the rest of Asia and Africa. India and the Indian Ocean are indispensable links in world trade and commercial intercourse. As remarked by K.M Pannikar

“The one who will rule the Indian Ocean will have Indians at its mercy”

Policy of Non-Alignment

Nehru formulated his policy primarily on ideals that emerged during the freedom struggle. This led to a strong aversion to becoming involved in power politics and wars waged by superpowers and in turn, developed an urge to play a major role in world affairs as a champion of freedom and peace. These later crystallized as the policies of non-alignment and peaceful coexistence.

After the end of the Second World War, the two power blocs came into begin which engulfed the world in a cold war as a result of their struggle. Most of the countries joined one bloc or the other and got involved in the cold war. The politics of the cold war and the polarization of the world into two camps remained a dominant feature of international politics when India became independent. Under such circumstances, India opted to remain outside the blocs and pursue a policy of non-alignment. In fact, this stand was soon emulated by a large number of newly emerging .independent countries from Asia and Africa. Though India remained outside bloc politics, it welcomed aid and assistance from both the blocs and helped in slackening tension between them.

Look East Policy

Look East policy represents its efforts to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of East Asia in order to bolster its standing as a regional power in the journey toward being a global power

India’s look east policy starts from North East Asia and not simply the ASEAN region. Yet, India is excluded from APEC as also ASEM. We have, however, a sound framework for meeting the concern -India has become a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum and a summit partner with the ASEAN. The ASEAN countries themselves have realized the value of engaging India for greater political, security, and economic balance in the region and that’s why they also started looking west, especially toward India. India has engaged in an effort to craft special trade and investment arrangements through an India-ASEAN Free Trade Area to be brought about in 10 years, a BIMSTEC FTA as also bilateral arrangements such as the India-Thailand FTA and India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. BIMST-EC and Mekong-Ganga Cooperation are other structural frameworks for India’s “Look-East” policy. We are working on a trilateral highway project between India, Myanmar, and Thailand. Connectivity, canalizing resources, and policy coordination between India and the countries in the region are the tasks ahead.

MILAN 2014 is the ninth edition of the MILAN series of multilateral naval engagements that was started by the Indian Navy. The MILAN initiative was launched in 1995 in consonance with the country’s ‘Look East’ policy of strengthening friendly ties with the nations in the Bay of Bengal region and South East Asia.

Why India was not looking at the East in Pre-1991?

There were many reasons for the relative neglect of this region. Because of India’s colonial links, India’s ruling elite had western orientation & thinking. Economically also this region was less developed than India till 1970-t80s. S-E Asia was not an effective trading & economic partner and India’s own policies were insular &protectionist. Also, the politics of that time too intervened as India and ASEAN counties were on the opposite side of the cold war divide. With time we realize what our perception was flawed about this region and after 1991 when India adopted the policy of LPG, we started to target this region as we required both the market and the resources of this region.

Act East Policy

India's Act East Policy focuses on the extended neighborhood in the Asia-Pacific region. The policy which was originally conceived as an economic initiative has gained political, strategic, and cultural dimensions including the establishment of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation. India has upgraded its relations to a strategic partnership with Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Australia, Singapore, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and forged close ties with all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Further, apart from ASEAN, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and East Asia Summit (EAS), India has also been actively engaged in regional fora such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Act East Policy has placed emphasis on India-ASEAN cooperation in our domestic agenda on infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, skills, urban renewal, smart cities, Make in India, and other initiatives. Connectivity projects, cooperation in space, S&T, and people-to-people exchanges could become a springboard for regional integration and prosperity.

The Objective of ''Act East Policy” is to promote economic cooperation, and cultural ties and develop a strategic relationship with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels thereby providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region including Arunanchal Pradesh with other countries in our neighborhood. The North East of India has been a priority in our Act East Policy (AEP). AEP provides an interface between North East India including the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the ASEAN region. Various plans at bilateral and regional levels include steady efforts to develop and strengthen the connectivity of the Northeast with the ASEAN region through trade, culture, people-to-people contacts, and physical infrastructure (road, airport, telecommunication, power, etc.). Some of the major projects include Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project, Rhi-Tiddim Road Project, Border Haats, etc.

The ASEAN-India Plan of Action for the period 2016-20 has been adopted in August 2015 which identifies concrete initiatives and areas of cooperation along the three pillars of political security, economic and socio-cultural. India continues with stepped-up efforts to forge a closer partnership with concerned regional and Multilateral organizations such as ASEAN, ARF, EAS, BIMSTEC, ACD, MCG, and IORA. On the Civilizational front, Buddhist and Hindu links could be energized to develop new contacts and connectivity between people. On Connectivity, special efforts are being made to develop a coherent strategy, particularly for linking ASEAN with our North East. Measures, including building transport infrastructure, encouraging airlines to enhance connectivity in the region, and contacts between academic and cultural institutions are underway. Our economic engagement with ASEAN has been stepped up – regional integration and implementation of projects are priorities. The ASEAN-India Agreement on Trade in Service and Investments has entered into force for India and seven ASEAN countries from 1 July 2015. The ASEAN-India Trade Negotiating Committee has been tasked to undertake a review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement. India has also invited ASEAN member states to participate in the International Solar Alliance which it co-launched with France on 30 November 2015 at COP-21. On strategic issues, we have increasing convergence on security interests with key partners both in a bilateral and multilateral format. Closer cooperation in combating terrorism, collaborating for peace and stability in the region, and promotion of maritime security based on international norms and laws are being pursued.

Look West Policy

The region stretching from Pakistan to the Horn of Africa via the Persian Gulf is in the middle of great turbulence. Among the many gathering storms in this arc of crisis is the potential failure of the international coalition in Afghanistan amidst the resurgence of the Taliban; mounting political tensions between Kabul and Islamabad; the political instability in Central Asia; the likely break-up of Iraq; Iran’s nuclear defiance of the international community; the collapse of the old order in the Middle East; and failing states in the Horn of Africa. To be able to secure our growing interests in the western neighborhood — from energy security to counter-terrorism - India will have to go beyond ad hoc responses to individual crises. It must define what we might call a ‘Look West’ policy. Here are nine possible elements that could go into it.

• The first is an independent approach to the region. Too often an ‘independent foreign policy' has been defined as simply opposing Washington. The Bush administration and the Islamic Republic of Iran, for example, were the two cheerleaders of Saddam Hussein’s hanging. India’s interests in the region stand on their own. Nor is the US policy a static one. So long as the US remains the principal power shaping the region, India must find ways to maximize regional cooperation with the US, where our interests converge and minimize the negative consequences when they diverge.
• The second is a commitment to Omnidirectional engagement. The arc of crisis is beset by severe internal contradictions. Given their multiple interests in the Middle East, great powers do not take sides between Arabs and Israel, the Shia and Sunni, or even Kabul and Islamabad until it becomes absolutely unavoidable. India too must shed its past ideological approach and focus on the pragmatic engagement of all sides.
• The third is sustained diplomatic outreach. The continuous exchange with the western neighborhood.
• The fourth is about leveraging the Islamic. If India has the political imagination, the Indian Muslim community, instead of being seen as a political entity, could easily become a potent force in India’s ‘Look West’ policy.
• The fifth is the centrality of Pakistan. Whether we like it or not, normalization of relations with Pakistan holds the key to a successful ‘Look West’ policy. Whether it is in gaining overland access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, ensuring India’s energy security, expanding ties with the Gulf, or limiting the threat of Islamic extremism and terrorism in the subcontinent, cooperation with Pakistan is essential.
• The sixth is an enduring commitment to stability in Afghanistan. Preventing a destabilization of Kabul by the Taliban has already emerged as one of the highest priorities for India’s national security strategy. As Pak-Afghan ties sink to lower depths, India faces a new tension between improving ties with Pakistan and strengthening the Karzai regime. The answer must necessarily lie in New Delhi taking the initiative for triangular political and economic cooperation and encouraging Islamabad and Kabul to limit their conflict.
• Seventh, accelerate economic integration. India’s policy inertia has allowed Beijing to steal a march over it on economic integration with Pakistan, the Gulf and Africa. Fast-forwarding free trade negotiations with the six-nation Gulf Coordination Council, overcoming obstacles to economic cooperation with Pakistan, and raising India’s commercial profile in Africa must be at the top of the agenda for a ‘Look West’ policy.
• The eighth element is defence diplomacy. As conflicts deepen in our western neighborhood, many nations would look towards increased security cooperation with India. India, in turn, needs an active engagement with the armed forces of the region, which should include arms transfers. India also needs new guidelines on when it would deploy its armies in the region. India has a long tradition of sending troops to the Middle East and Africa on peacekeeping missions. It will now need to relate military missions with national interests in a more fundamental manner.
• Finally, cope with territorial changes in the Gulf. Since the American occupation of Iraq, India has consistently stood for the unity and integrity of Iraq. So has much of the world and the Bush administration, at least until now. That does not necessarily mean Iraq will hang together forever amidst the expanding sectarian divide. If it does not, the region could be drawn into a wider conflict that could tear up the territorial map of the Middle East drawn up by Britain and France after the First World War. While hoping for the best, India’s ‘Look West’ policy must be prepared to deal with the worst in the region.

Why Look West policy has not proved as successful as our LEP and the role of GCC in expediting the LWP?

The LEP has been a success because we have a robust mechanism of ASEAN which saved us from the trouble of negotiating deals with the individual nations of the region. Taking to different nations on a bilateral basis is far trickier and time-consuming than solving the issues with a forum that represents the common interests of the regional countries. Though there is no pan-Arabian institution present at this time, Gulf Cooperation Council can help us in a big way it has six members as the majority of India’s trade is with the GCC countries. Almost 70% of our relations with West Asian nations are covered in the GCC-India relations. So GCC can be the bulwark on which we can build the foundation of our LWP.

Indian Ocean Rim

Cooperation among the countries of the Indian Ocean Rim is another concept that India would pursue with greater momentum, with the active participation of African states. India has a creditable record of supporting liberation movements in Africa and the antiapartheid struggle. There has been and still is significant movement in terms of people between India and that continent. A large number of students from Africa have studied in Indian technical and other institutions. There is considerable potential for economic and commercial cooperation, for promoting small-scale industries in the continent with technological support from India.

Persons of Indian Origin

There are 20 million persons of Indian origin living beyond the shores of India, making creditable contributions to the countries that they live in. India has only recently begun to give serious consideration to the resources, entrepreneurial skills, and goodwill that they could contribute to India in a variety of ways. The decision to offer dual citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin in seven countries, to begin with, will have a far-reaching impact on the future development of India.

Security Dimensions

History shows that after independence India inherited a weak defense system. Her military was organized on a British pattern, geared to serve the interest of an alien country. Our security needs made us largely dependent on the West, particularly Britain, but, after the 1962 debacle in the India-China border war, Indian foreign and defense policy could not remain complacent. India broadened the scope of the market to buy weapons.

India's attempt to balance Pakistan's support from the United States and China by signing the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in August 1971.

Although India obtained substantial Soviet military and economic aid, which helped to strengthen the nation, India's influence was undercut regionally and internationally by the perception that its friendship with the Soviet Union prevented a more forthright condemnation of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.

There is an American Military base of modern type on Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean which is only a thousand miles from the Indian sea coast. India has strongly objected to this military base of America. India is trying to take along with coastal countries of the Indian Ocean to get the Indian Ocean declared a peaceful zone by the United Nations. India did not seek any military alliances; therefore, India' adopted the policy of Non-alignment to get military help from both blocs. India's decision to develop nuclear energy gave it an opportunity to conduct a nuclear test in 1974, and kept its nuclear options open (1974-1998) for several years, India finally conducted five nuclear tests in 1998. Prime Minister Vajpayee declared India to be a nuclear weapon state, and also committed India not to conduct any more tests. Vajpayee's government's decision surprised the international community. Even after agreeing in 2005 on the civilian nuclear deal with India the US continued to describe India as a "state with advanced nuclear technology."

In the 1990s, India's economic problems and the demise of the bipolar world political system forced India to reassess its foreign policy and adjust is foreign relations. Previous policies proved inadequate to cope with the serious domestic and international problems facing India. The end of the Cold War gutted the core meaning of nonalignment and left Indian foreign policy without significant direction. Today Indian army is one of the ablest and strongest armies in the world.

It is expected that the New government will also be balancing out geo-strategic needs, with its close cooperation with Japan and the USA in areas of defense cooperation and other bilateral issues.

Global Security

Arms limitation and Disarmament through proper multilateral negotiation have been central to India’s worldview. Disarmament means to limit the race for armament in the world. For achieving this objective India had made many efforts inside and outside the U.N. India is also a member of the 18-member disarmament commission,

India opposes NPT and CTBT as discriminatory treaties. It supports global and comprehensive nuclear disarmament.

India continues to stress for a cooperative thrust to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons, by subscribing to political measures such as no-first-use, non-use against non-nuclear weapon states, and a move away from deployment in hair-trigger alert. India, as the only country to commit to no-first-use, believes that restraint on the use of nuclear weapons will reduce their salience in strategic calculus and over time pave the way for their reduction and elimination.

The case of North Korea’s nuclear development programme and Pakistan’s involvement is the most recent illustration; Pakistan’s own clandestine acquisitions of nuclear technology and missiles and related technology were earlier instances. These denial regimes that have proved ineffective in preventing proliferation to irresponsible regimes are inimical to our interests when used to deny developmental tools to states such as India with impeccable nonproliferation credentials.

It opposes its isolated move to make South Asia a nuclear-weapon-free zone.

India is opposed to military alliances such as NATO, SEATO, and CENTO (Pakistan is a member of both SEATO and CENTO) India is not a member of any of these organizations and always opposed the military alliances.

In today’s scenario increasing strength of global terrorism; ISIS in Iraq and Syria, African fundamentalist groups like Boko Haram and Al-Shabab, and unrest in Ukraine have created new issues of global security.

Other Issues at the global arena that are affecting foreign policy are:

• Regional Spillover crisis and resultant humanitarian crisis( Syrian crisis, ISIS, CAR ,  FATA region of Pakistan etc)
• Nightmare of Revisit of Cold Era ( Ukraine crisis and Crimea imbroglio)
• Continuing Social Unrest (Recent years saw huge numbers of people around the world take to the streets to protest their governments and policies, from anti-austerity movements to middle-class revolts, in rich countries and in poor)
• Towards the End of the War on Drugs (Is 2014 the year that will see a definitive change in how to address drug trafficking? It is unlikely that this year will bring a shift in global drug policy on a massive scale. However, there are signs that states have begun a fundamental shift, and 2014 may set a new tone on counternarcotic policies. Uruguay has moved to legalize marijuana.
• Dispute in the Eastern hemisphere ( East china sea, Diachi Island, North Korea)
• Technology for war and peace( Wikileaks, Project PRISM,  UAV)
• Human Rights Frontiers ( Internet Freedom
• Globalization of existential dangers ( Ebola, MERS,  Climate Change-food security)
• Migration will get worse before it gets better (Despite high-level discussions about international migration in 2013, no progress has been made to fix the global management of migration. Migration will only increase importance in—and put increasing strain on—international relations in the coming years. Bangladeshi and Rohingya migration across N-E regions, European migration/refugee crisis
• The SurgingUrbanization: Alongside the unprecedented urbanization of the last decade, urban fragility has emerged as a central challenge in global security and development. Like the fragile state, fragile cities suffer from rising instability, poverty, and violence and lack the capacities needed to face the magnitude of these challenges.
• In fact, according to the report of the United Nations High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, “Cities are where the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost.” 2014 will see a growing effort to better understand drivers of urban violence and adapt traditional conflict prevention and peacebuilding tools to the urban context. Urban management and municipal governance are becoming increasingly critical issues for human, national, and international security. SMART CITIES( Budget 2014), Kyoto template for Varanasi, etc are some of the steps in this direction.

Internal Security

The idea of comprehensive security requires not just security from war or the threat of war, but also food security, energy security, and a sustainable environment. This necessitates sustained economic development, which, in turn, is today increasingly dependent on the technological prowess of a country.

Technologies like nuclear, space, etc are critical tools for development and comprehensive security. Ironically, regimes of technology denial, created in the name of nonproliferation, but which have outlived their relevance, are still being maintained even in the face of mounting evidence of their failure to prevent proliferation.

There is a pressing demand for energy to fire the engine of rapid economic growth. Given the limitations of fossil fuels, and the global concerns about climate change and ecological degradation, nuclear power generation provides a clean, viable alternative. International cooperation in civilian nuclear power generation remains hostage to denial regimes insisting on “club” rules rather than genuine nonproliferation. India, with its indigenous nuclear technology capability, demonstrated its huge market and nonproliferation credentials and views nuclear power generation as the need and task of the immediate further. In a sense, it is comparable to our quest for space technology, driven by socio-economic needs, and demands of weather forecasting, communications, and disaster management. It is a travesty of truth to perceive this quest in narrow terms of missile proliferation in India’s case. That is why India rejects controls on the transfer of technology related to peaceful uses of outer space. New threats posed by developmental and climate issues, Naxalism, migration from Bangladesh, and also areas of increasing cyber crimes are complicating the complex theatre of internal security.

The Economic Factor

The economic factor has played an important role in the formation of India's foreign policy. After independence, the economic condition of India was miserable, so our dependence on western countries became a vital necessity for procuring economic and all types of technical help, so we could never ignore our dependence on western countries while formulating our foreign policy.  India welcomed aid and assistance from both the blocs, but without entangling alliances with anyone. India opted for the policy of non-alignment policy.

India tried to formulate her foreign policy in such a way, that we can get foreign economic aid without strings, that we can get loans at reasonable rates of interest, that technology transfer was easily made possible and that we received economic assistance both from West and East. At present India has an established good relationship with the developing countries of Africa and Asia to enhance Indian foreign trade. Hence, Indian foreign policy is intimately connected with its economic setup. Today in the global era or in the age of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization India has also opted for the policy of Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization as a result of which the Indian economy has got linked with the World economy. It has given a boost to the economic growth of India.

Many countries in the world have a native predominant Indian population representing the Indian diaspora.

Policy towards neighbors

For development India needs peace and it can be established only by having friendly relations with neighboring countries. We have many problems with neighboring countries which can be best solved through peaceful methods. India has a long border and many neighbors with whom it has traditionally maintained friendly and good-neighborly relations.

The relations between India and Afghanistan have been marked by increasingly friendly cooperation in the economic, technical, and cultural fields. India is to focus on managing its relations with Pakistan and China so that the inherent tensions in its relations with these countries do not affect our vital interests.

Mutual trade among the neighboring countries can be of great advantage to our neighboring countries. With this purpose in mind, the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation SAARC was established in December 1985 and at present eight countries are member of it the most recent being Afghanistan whose entry was pushed by India during the 14th SAARC summit at New Delhi.

India’s Nuclear Doctrine

The basic principles of India’s nuclear doctrine can be summarized as follows:

• Building and maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent;
• A Posture of ‘No-First Use’ This implies that nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory;
• Deterrence strengthened by maintaining the capacity for retaliation;
• Nuclear retaliatory attacks can only be authorized by the civilian political leadership through the Nuclear Command Authority;
• Non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States;
• A continued observance of the moratorium on nuclear tests, participation in FMCT negotiations, and continuance of strict controls on the export of nuclear and missile-related materials and technologies;
• Continued commitment to the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world, through global, verifiable, and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament.

This doctrine has been spelled out as forms part of a responsible and restrained approach to the security challenges of the future. It provides for transparency and predictability and should, therefore, serve the purpose of deterrence and stability.

In the days ahead, we will continue to place emphasis on multilateral efforts to establish instruments and norms that will enhance respect for international law rather than perpetuate the concept of unilateral advantage, whether in the field of security or trade or other areas of international interaction. Whenever the United Nations is ready to expand the permanent membership of the Security Council to reflect the global realities of the new century, it is evident that India will stake a rightful claim for a place in it.

Technology

The technological dimensions of our foreign economic policy should particularly focus on enhancing technological potential and on increasing India's capacity for self-reliance in science and technology. The future projection of Indian foreign policy is that even with the maximum possible development of her technology base, She Is unlikely to catch up economically, and therefore, also military in the foreseeable future, with the leading industrial nation, and to play the role of a big power in international relations. After World War Second all the developed nations like the USA, Russia, China, and Japan did big changes in policy, actual advanced technology is responsible to bring changes in policies. For economic development, it is necessary for developing nations to have access to advanced technology.

Constitutional Factors

Some directives of Indian foreign policy have been mentioned in the constitution in Article 51 of Part IV of the constitution. The state will try to encourage international peace, and respect for International Law. The state will try to establish relations with different nations 'on the basis of justice and respect. The state will encourage the settlement of international disputes through meditation.

Influence of International Situation

International situations also affect foreign policy. No state can save itself from the effects of international situations. When India attained independence, the Cold War had begun and the world was getting divided into two power blocs. It had a direct impact on the shaping of India's policy of non-alignment. India strongly opposed the process of decolonization and opposed to all forms of colonialism, imperialism, and racial discrimination.

Today India has developed good relations with countries like Russia, China, America, etc. The world has also recognized the importance of India in international politics. Efforts are initiated for economic reconstruction and development. India took advantage and decided on its rapid economic development. Besides this, new issues have emerged on the international scene. Terrorism and environmental changes have become global problems. Today India is an active member of the 'international coalition against terrorism and is fully committed to the complete eradication of terrorism. Now America has also understood the position of India from a proper perspective and has started looking at India with a positive attitude.