International Relations
Bilateral ties, multilateral forums, treaties and India's foreign policy
Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief, killed in overnight attacks: Israel Defence Minister
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on March 17, 2026 that Ali Larijani — secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and one of...
Taliban calls Kabul hospital strike ‘crime against humanity’, Pakistan says it only hit ‘military infra’
The Taliban government's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned Pakistan's March 16, 2026 aerial strikes on Kabul, calling the targeting of a drug rehabilita...
U.S. does ‘not need’ help from allies on Iran, says Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump declared that the United States does "not need" the help of allies to manage the Iran conflict, even as he simultaneously pressured...
LPG consumption slumps 17% in March on war-related shortages
LPG consumption in India fell to 1.147 million tonnes in the first fortnight of March 2026 — a 17.3% decline from the 1.387 million tonnes consumed in the sa...
Second LPG tanker reaches India from war zone; efforts on to get back 22 stranded vessels
A second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, MV Nanda Devi, reached Kandla port in Gujarat after safely transiting the Strait of Hormuz — the first vessel, MV Shivali...
India growth outlook dims as oil tops $100, gas crisis deepens
Goldman Sachs cut its India growth forecast for the fiscal year starting April 2026 (FY2027) by half a percentage point to 6.5%, becoming the first major age...
India oilmeal exports hit by US-Iran conflict, Red Sea disruptions
Escalating US-Iran military tensions in 2026 — including effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran — are severely disrupting India's oilmeal exports,...
India at UN slams Pakistan for ‘fabricating’ Islamophobia narratives, flags Ahmadiyya repression, Afghan bombings
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, delivered a strong rebuttal at the UN General Assembly, accusing Paki...
Trade deficit with China tops $100bn
India's trade deficit with China has crossed $100 billion for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with the full calendar year 2025 deficit reaching a record $116.12 bil...
India slams Pakistan over air-bombings against Afghanistan in UNGA
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, raised Pakistan's aerial bombardment of Afghanistan at the UN General...
US assets are under Iran attack, but here’s why NATO doesn’t have to answer Trump’s call
Despite US forces being targeted by Iranian missile and drone attacks across multiple Gulf states, NATO has not formally invoked Article 5 — the collective d...
Iran-Israel war LIVE: Debris from intercepted Iranian missile kills one in Abu Dhabi
On March 17, 2026, debris from an intercepted Iranian ballistic missile killed one person in Abu Dhabi, marking one of the most direct civilian casualties fr...
UAE briefly closes airspace as West Asia conflict escalates
The UAE briefly closed its airspace on March 17, 2026 as an "exceptional precautionary measure" after Iran intensified missile and drone strikes across Gulf ...
Oil prices up 2% amid escalating war in West Asia, closure of Strait of Hormuz
Crude oil prices surged over 2% on March 17, 2026, as fears grew over a prolonged disruption to the Strait of Hormuz — the world's most critical oil transit ...
India condemns Pakistan airstrikes on Kabul hospital
Pakistan's military conducted an airstrike on the night of March 16, 2026 targeting the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul — a 2,000-bed civilian fac...
FDI from China: From Thailand to Brazil, global lessons for India’s cautious playbook
India's Union Cabinet (March 10, 2026) approved amendments to the FDI policy for land-bordering countries — effectively liberalising aspects of Press Note 3 ...
India underreported rice, wheat price support: US, others to WTO
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) filed its fourth counter-notification against India at the WTO Committee on Agriculture, co-sponsored by Aus...
India-US trade deal to be signed after new US tariff framework is finalised
India's Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal confirmed on March 16, 2026, that India will sign the bilateral trade deal with the United States only after Washin...
Trade deficit nearly 2x in Feb; exports face battlefield ahead
India's merchandise trade deficit widened to $27.1 billion in February 2026, up sharply from $14 billion in February 2025 — nearly double year-on-year. Total...
Migrant workers bear brunt of Iran attacks in Gulf
Since Iran launched wave after wave of missile and drone attacks against Gulf states from February 28, 2026, approximately 9 million Indian migrant workers l...