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Concept Library · GS 2

International Relations

Groupings, treaties, chokepoints and doctrines behind India's foreign policy news. 667 concepts, each with its definition, key details and a timeline of every news story that touched it.

India-EU Free Trade Agreement (Concluded January 2026)

In the news 3x

The India-EU FTA negotiations were first launched in 2007 but were suspended in 2013 due to disagreements over market access, intellectual property, and...

India-EU Free Trade Agreement (January 2026)

In the news 3x

The India-EU Free Trade Agreement, concluded on 27 January 2026, is a comprehensive trade deal between India and the European Union that followed nearly two...

India-France Civil Nuclear Cooperation

In the news 3x

India and France signed the Agreement on the Development of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy in 2008. The centrepiece is the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project...

India-Indonesia Strategic Partnership

In the news 3x

India and Indonesia share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, elevated during PM Modi's 2018 visit to Jakarta. The relationship spans defence, maritime...

India-Iran Energy Relations

In the news 3x

India-Iran energy ties have been shaped by the tension between strategic complementarity and external geopolitical pressure. Iran holds the world's...

India-Israel Defence Partnership

In the news 3x

Israel is one of India's most significant defence technology partners. Between 2020 and 2024, Israel supplied approximately 13% of India's total arms...

India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

In the news 3x

The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue format involves the Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers of both countries meeting together. It is a mechanism to coordinate...

India-Nepal Bilateral Relations

In the news 3x

India and Nepal share a unique relationship defined by an open border, deep cultural and civilisational ties (Hinduism, Buddhism), extensive...

India-Russia Energy Partnership

In the news 3x

The India-Russia energy relationship transformed fundamentally after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Western sanctions on Russian oil exports...

India-Russia Relations

In the news 3x

India-Russia relations are among the most durable in India's foreign policy landscape. Rooted in the Soviet-era arms supply relationship, they have evolved...

India-Russia Trade

In the news 3x

Before 2022, Russia was a relatively minor trading partner for India — bilateral trade was approximately $13 billion. Post-sanctions, India dramatically...

India-Sri Lanka Relations

In the news 3x

India and Sri Lanka share approximately 65 km of maritime proximity across the Palk Strait, making them among the closest neighbours in the world by sea....

India-US Strategic Partnership and its Stress Points

In the news 3x

India and the United States are Major Defence Partners (since 2016) and have signed three foundational defence agreements: LEMOA (Logistics Exchange...

India-US Strategic and Economic Partnership

In the news 3x

India-US relations underwent a paradigm shift after the Civil Nuclear Agreement (also called the 123 Agreement) signed in 2008, which brought India into the...

India-US Trade Deal

In the news 3x

The India-US Interim Trade Agreement announced on 6-7 February 2026 established a framework for phased tariff reductions. The US reduced its reciprocal...

India-US Trade Framework

In the news 3x

On February 6, 2026, the US and India announced a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. Under this framework, the...

India-Vietnam Bilateral Relations

In the news 3x

India and Vietnam established diplomatic relations in 1972. The relationship has been shaped by shared historical experiences of anti-colonial struggle...

India-West Asia Economic Linkages

In the news 3x

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman — share deep economic ties. GCC nations account for...

Indian Coast Guard

In the news 3x

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was established by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 and operates under the Ministry of Defence. Its jurisdiction extends over India's...

Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C)

In the news 3x

The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) was established by the Ministry of Home Affairs as the national nodal agency to combat cybercrime in a...

Indian Diaspora and Remittances

In the news 3x

The approximately 8.9 million Indians in GCC countries represent one of the world's largest diaspora concentrations in a single region. Remittances from...

Indian Diaspora in West Asia

In the news 3x

India has the world's largest diaspora, and West Asia (the Gulf region) is home to approximately one crore (10 million) Indian nationals — the single...

India–Bangladesh Bilateral Relations

In the news 3x

India and Bangladesh share one of South Asia's most consequential bilateral relationships, rooted in India's decisive role in Bangladesh's Liberation War of...

India–Iran Relations

In the news 3x

India and Iran share longstanding civilisational and strategic ties. India is a key investor in Iran's Chabahar Port, a critical node in the International...

India–South Korea Bilateral Relations

In the news 3x

India and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1973. The relationship was elevated to a 'Special Strategic Partnership' in 2015. South Korea is...

International Criminal Court (ICC)

In the news 3x

The International Criminal Court (ICC), established by the Rome Statute (1998, in force 2002), has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war...

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Principle of Distinction

In the news 3x

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) — also called the Law of Armed Conflict or jus in bello — is the body of international law that regulates the conduct...

International Law on Use of Force

In the news 3x

The UN Charter (1945) establishes the primary international legal framework governing the use of force between states. Article 2(4) prohibits the threat or...

Iran Nuclear Programme and the JCPOA

In the news 3x

Iran's nuclear programme has been a source of international tension since 2002 when the existence of undeclared nuclear facilities at Natanz and Arak was...

Iran Nuclear Programme and the JCPOA Framework

In the news 3x

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in July 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China, plus Germany), was a landmark...

Iran's Asymmetric Warfare Doctrine

In the news 3x

Asymmetric warfare refers to conflict strategies used by a weaker party to offset the conventional military superiority of a stronger adversary. Iran has...

Iran's Ballistic Missile Programme

In the news 3x

Iran possesses one of the largest and most diversified ballistic missile arsenals in the Middle East, developed indigenously after sanctions cut off...

Iran's Constitutional Structure

In the news 3x

Iran is an Islamic Republic governed under the principle of Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Supreme Jurist) — a political-theological doctrine developed by...

Iran's Military Capabilities

In the news 3x

Iran's military strategy is built on asymmetric deterrence — compensating for conventional military inferiority relative to the US through proxy networks...

Iran's Military Doctrine

In the news 3x

Iran has developed one of the most capable drone and ballistic missile arsenals in the Middle East, a deliberate strategic choice to offset its conventional...

Iran's Nuclear Programme and the NPT Framework

In the news 3x

Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT, 1968), which obligates non-nuclear-weapon states not to develop nuclear weapons in...

Iran's Proxy Network

In the news 3x

Iran developed a strategic doctrine of 'forward defence' by cultivating and arming non-state armed groups across the Middle East, known collectively as the...

Iran's Strategic Doctrine

In the news 3x

Iran's military doctrine is built around asymmetric deterrence — using proxy forces, naval mines, missile strikes, and selective maritime disruption to...

Israel's Security Doctrine

In the news 3x

Israel's security doctrine has been shaped by its unique strategic situation: a small state surrounded by historically hostile neighbors, with narrow...

Judicial Independence

In the news 3x

Judicial independence is the principle that the judiciary must be able to decide cases free from external influence — from the executive branch...

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

In the news 3x

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage organised by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet...

Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura Dispute

In the news 3x

The Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura region is a territorial dispute between India and Nepal, intensified since 2020 when India released a new political map...

Khalistan Movement

In the news 3x

The Khalistan movement emerged in the 1970s–80s as a demand for a separate Sikh state in Punjab. Following Operation Blue Star (June 1984) and the...

LPG Supply Chain in India

In the news 3x

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in India is a mix primarily of propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10), stored under pressure in liquid form. India's domestic LPG...

Lashkar-e-Taiba

In the news 3x

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — 'Army of the Righteous' — is a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation founded in the late 1980s with logistical support from the...

Laws of Armed Conflict

In the news 3x

International Humanitarian Law (IHL), codified in the four Geneva Conventions (1949) and their Additional Protocols (1977), governs the conduct of warfare....

Laws of Armed Conflict at Sea

In the news 3x

The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, adopted in June 1994 by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, is...

Loss and Damage Fund

In the news 3x

The Loss and Damage Fund, formally established at COP 27 (Sharm el-Sheikh, 2022) and operationalised at COP 28 (Dubai, 2023), provides financial support to...

MMDR Amendment Act, 2023

In the news 3x

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023, passed by Parliament in August 2023, fundamentally restructured how India governs...

MSME Classification

In the news 3x

Government references to an 'MSME boost' from a trade agreement only make sense against the statutory definition of an MSME. The Micro, Small and Medium...

Major Questions Doctrine

In the news 3x

The Major Questions Doctrine is a judicial principle holding that when an executive action carries vast economic and political significance, courts require...

Maritime Chokepoints and Freedom of Navigation

In the news 3x

Maritime chokepoints are narrow sea passages through which a disproportionate share of global seaborne trade passes. Their strategic importance arises from...

Maritime Chokepoints and India's Strategic Geography

In the news 3x

India's peninsula geography makes it inherently dependent on sea lanes. Over 90% of India's trade by volume and 70% by value moves through maritime routes....

Maritime Insurance

In the news 3x

Marine insurance is one of the oldest forms of commercial insurance, dating to the Lloyd's coffee house in London (late 17th century). Today, Lloyd's of...

Maritime Law

In the news 3x

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982), vessels in distress may seek entry into a foreign port on humanitarian grounds, a...

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL)

In the news 3x

MDL, headquartered in Mazagaon, Mumbai, is India's premier warship-building yard and the only shipyard in the country capable of constructing both...

Mercosur

In the news 3x

Mercosur (Mercado Común del Sur — Southern Common Market) is a South American customs union established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991, entering into...

Naval Blockade in International Law

In the news 3x

A naval blockade is a belligerent act under international law that restricts the movement of ships to and from an enemy's ports or coast. Under UNCLOS...

Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) in International Trade

In the news 3x

Non-tariff barriers are trade restrictions that use mechanisms other than import/export duties to control the volume of goods traded between countries. They...

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and North Korea's Withdrawal

In the news 3x

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), opened for signature in 1968, recognises five nuclear-weapon states (US, Russia, UK, France...

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These concepts move with the news. The daily brief explains each one in the story where it appears.
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