The year 1991 was a defining moment in the history of India’s foreign and foreign economic policies in the post cold war scenario. The collapse and disintegration of the USSR at the one end and the acceleration in the processes of globalisation on the other, created a much larger space for India to manoeuvre at home and on global arena. India found itself automatically out of the perceived shadows of the "now former mighty USSR”. In 1991, there was a change of Government at the Centre, which took some visible and tangible foreign policy and foreign economic policy decisions.
One of the more pronounced shifts in foreign policy came through the "Look East Policy” initiated in 1991. The other visible and tangible departure from the past was in the field of foreign economic policy as India decided to open its door for foreign investments and to deregulate and let its economy come out of insulation and face the challenges through globalisation and be part of the global market economy. Several other important steps in the next two decades were made; these include for instance strategic partnerships with all major players such as USA, China, Russia and the EU. 
In addition, India has forged some important regional links through grouping such as BRICS and IBSA. In the context of anti-piracy initiatives,India has emerged as a net security provider in for the small island countries in the Indian Ocean. These initiatives were, however, gradual, relatively subtle and/or a result of adjustments and adaptation to fast changing global geo-political realities and therefore can be treated as less pronounced .
Let us look at salient features of India’s foreign policy in the last two decades in some details:

Look East Policy

• In announcing its Look East Policy India was guided by its wish to focus on the region, particularly the ASEAN Member States , it had neglected out of compulsions beyond its control. The policy has been pursued diligently over the past two decades. In 1992 India entered into a Sectoral Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN which was upgraded to Full Dialogue Partner status in 1996. Since 2002 India has been holding annual India-ASEAN Summit level meetings. 
• To mark the 20th anniversary of the dialogue partnership and 10th anniversary of Summit level partnership, a Commemorative India-ASEAN Summit meeting was held in New Delhi (December 20-21, 2013). The initial objective of the Look East Policy was to reach out to Asian Tigers such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand ; the dialogue now covers a wide range of areas with the objective of deepening economic integration through enhanced trade and investments, improved connectivity between India and the region, closer cooperation in defence and maritime security matters as also disaster management. The India-ASEAN Agreement in trade in goods has facilitated significant growth in trade which has reached $ 80 billion. India has offered an agreement on trade in services and investments. The scope of Look East Policy has been expanded over a period of time to cover dialogue on security matters at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and interaction at EAST Asia Summit meetings.

Integration into Global Economy

From 1947 to late 1980s India had subscribed to the concept of mixed economy with socialistic orientations; the policy was perhaps the right choice for a newly independent country which faced several challenges in socio-economic sectors. In fact the policy did pay its dividends to a certain extent. However the growth rates of economy hovered around two to three percent. The decision to deregulate and integrate into world economy was guided by the desire to be in pace with the fast changing scenario when the whole world was shrinking into a global village, aided in particular by the revolutionary changes in the fields of telecommunications and civil aviation. The policy shift has paid its dividends; India is now counted as one of the largest emerging economies and its views are heard and respected at the international gatherings such as G- 20 meetings. The successive governments have followed this policy in its spirit though there have been occasional differences of opinion eg FDI in retail sector.

India and its Neighbourhood

• Let me begin with a quickly sketched profile of South Asia which accounts for the bulk of our neighbourhood. I will later touch upon our next door neighbours in East Asia namely China and if time permits also Myanmar.India’s neighbourhood which the member-countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka comprise , is a fairly complex geographical entity. This is to say the least. In fact India can be said to be living in a dangerous neighbourhood. 
• The constituent countries-individually as well as collectively-represent a world of historical links, shared legacies, commonalities as well as diversities which are so elaborately reflected in their ethnic, linguistic, religious and political fabric. China and Myanmar, the other two neighbours, are no less complex.

The South Asian region is also full of contradictions, disparities and paradoxes.

• In the post-colonial period, the South Asia has been a theatre of bloody inter-state as well as civil wars; it has witnessed liberation movements, nuclear rivalry, military dictatorships and continues to suffer from insurgencies, religious fundamentalism and terrorism, besides serious problems associated with drugs and human trafficking. The region also has the dubious distinction of having over 540mn people who earn less than $ 1.25 a day and account for 44% of developing world’s poor. The region has produced several powerful female leaders and yet in the overall much remains to be done for the empowerment of women. On the barometer of religious tolerance, the constituent countries range anywhere between flexible secular minded and rigidly fundamentalist.
• The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has remained in existence for over 27 years; yet South Asia is considered as the least integrated of the global regions; this is despite the stipulation in its Charter that "bilateral and contentious issues shall be excluded” from its deliberations, thus making it possible to put the contentious issues on the back burner and focus on areas of possible cooperation.
• On the positive side, the region has been registering a healthy growth (average 6% per annum) during the past several years. Also democratic forms of governance (howsoever flawed and feeble) are beginning to gain some ground in most parts of the region.
• Where does India stand in this rather volatile region? India’s position is unique in more than one sense. As a matter of an interesting geographic factor, India shares borders with all other South Asian nations whereas no other South Asian nation (except Afghanistan and Pakistan) shares borders with any other South Asian nation. Notwithstanding some shortcomings, democracy and rule of law as instruments of political governance are well entrenched in India. Transfer of power has been more or less peaceful and transparent. In relative terms India can be arguably considered as the most stable country in the region, moving ahead on the fast tracks of development, even though the growth has of late slowed down and may not return to 9% in foreseeable future but according to the assessment of some international agencies, it may climb up to 7%. 
• Further in terms of its population, territory, GDP, its image as an emerging world economy and a responsible de-facto nuclear State, and as a country which is destined to play a larger role on international arena, and also for several other reasons, India stands apart amongst the bunch of other South Asian countries. In fact India can be said to dwarf others in the South Asian region which in turn has created misperceptions about India and its intention.India has valid reasons to be proud of its achievements. However, in the regional context, "India’s pride”, unfortunately is also "neighbours’ envy”. There are unjustified and erroneous perceptions about India floating around in the region: "Big Brother bullying the smaller neighbour”; "India treats its neighbours as a neglected backyard” etc. etc. There is no justified explanation for the "trust deficit”. On top of it there are vested interests and lobbies for whom being anti-Indian is synonymous with being patriot and nationalist. And then there are strong institutions within the framework of a more or less failed and rogue State in the neighbourhood (Pakistan) which would like to see relations with India in a state of perpetual suspension. India’s motives are suspected even in cases of innocent proposals for economic cooperation which would lead to win-win situations. 
• At times the domestic compulsions in India arising out of regional and coalition politics complicate matters further.
• It is against the above backdrop of various challenges one has to look at the options which India’s foreign policy makers have at their disposal for this region:
• In a scenario where we have incorrigible Pakistan at one end and genuinely friendly Bhutan at the other end of the spectrum, and everyone else somewhere in between, it is perhaps difficult to write one single foreign policy prescription for the entire region. Nevertheless, there are some basic approaches which India has consistently endeavoured to adopt and apply;

These include for instance: 

• India advocates the policy of constructive engagement, despite such serious provocations as have been in the past (attack on Parliament, Mumbai terrorist attacks etc). It believes that violent retaliation and confrontation can only complicate the matters. This applies in particular to Pakistan- the origin of State-sponsored terrorism targeted at India. The policy of engagement is not allowed, however, to be misunderstood as weakness. Strong and loud messages emanate from India each and every time our patience is tested.
• India adheres to its benign and noble policy of non-interference into internal affairs of other countries in the region. However, if an act - innocent or deliberate - by any country has the potential of impinging upon India’s national interests, India does not hesitate in quick and timely intervention. Mind it: intervention is qualitatively different from interference, particularly when the request for intervention is made by the country concerned.
• Foreign policy in India by and large enjoys national consensus. At times, however, there are instances when it appears that the foreign policy is being held hostage to domestic regional politics. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the most glaring examples. In such cases, the domestic sentiments and genuine concerns of the segments of the society are taken into consideration but not allowed to determine country’s foreign policy which is guided solely by the overriding national interests and must be made in New Delhi.
• India has endeavoured to deal with the government-of-the-day, be it a democracy, monarchy or military dictatorship, insisting that the choice of the form of government is best left to the people of the country concerned. India does not believe in exporting democracy but does not hesitate in promoting democracy wherever potential exists; this is done by proactively providing assistance in capacity building and strengthening the institutions of democracy in close consultation with the Government in the concerned country; 
• In contemporary globalised world, the foreign policy and the foreign economic policy objectives stand integrated and cannot be addressed divorced from each other. This is more so as the benefits of growth have yet to reach a very large segment of society.
• Creation of an external environment which is conducive to all inclusive growth in the country is therefore one of the integral component of India’s foreign policy. All diplomatic skills and political leverages are being put to use to impress upon the partners in the region that joint exploration of natural resources can lead to win-win situations. India’s cooperation with Bhutan in hydropower generation is an example to be cited and followed. In contrast, as a result of its reluctance to collaborate with India in this field, Nepal remains a net importer of electricity despite its enormous hydro resources.
• India is using its Development Assistance Program as an effective foreign policy tool which India employs to earn goodwill and friends of India particularly in developing countries. India’s assistance in capacity building and infrastructure development is much appreciated by the recipient countries as the assistance is invariably non-prescriptive and the priorities are determined by the recipient State.
• In a slight departure India is gradually switching over from pure charity to a judicious mix of outright grants and soft loans linked to project/commodity exports. Also India is judiciously working to ensure that the "goodwill’’ thus earned must get translated into concrete political and economic dividends.
• Finally, India is ready to go an extra mile in seeking the integration of the region. As often cautioned by the International Financial Institutes, only through regional cooperation can the South Asia be a part of Asian century.