Author: Rakesh K. Chitkara

The defining geopolitical contest of the twenty-first century is not ideological but material. It is a resource race between the United States and China to maintain or gain global supremacy through control over energy, minerals, supply chains and strategic inputs. China has pursued this race largely through diplomacy, long-term contracts, infrastructure financing and system-level embedding across regions. The United States, by contrast, has historically relied on power, though for decades it did so behind institutional language and alliance frameworks. Under Donald Trump, that strategic discretion ended. What had long been managed quietly was rendered explicit, transactional, bilateral and unapologetic. This…

India sits at the centre of global healthcare. From HIV antiretrovirals that save lives across Africa to cancer drugs that make treatment affordable in Latin America and vaccines that protect millions in Southeast Asia, the country’s pharmaceutical industry has become indispensable. Today, India supplies around 20 per cent of global generic medicines by volume and nearly 60 per cent of the world’s vaccine demand, making it the backbone of treatment and prevention for much of the developing world. With pharmaceutical exports valued at nearly USD 28 billion during FY 2023–24, India is not merely a participant in global healthcare; it…