Strengthening India’s Presence in Asia – The New Direction

Why in News?

Recently, the U.S. Secretary of State told the Senate that the story of the 21st century will be written in Asia.

Why India should strengthen its position in Asia?

• U.S actions – The U.S. is overturning multilateralism and reducing India’s strategic policy space in several key domains as India’s relations with China improve and those with Russia strengthen.
• Improving relation with China – With China, it should be a case of ‘trust but verify’ as negotiations for an international border in Ladakh advance.
• India is having the potential to settle the Kashmir issue and investment that may follow.
• Strengthening ties with Russia – Russia is a 75-year-old tested partner and its S-400 was the game-changer in ‘Operation Sindoor’.
• India’s choice – For India, the choice is not binary, as western analysts argue, tilting towards the U.S. or China.
• The new direction for India should be toward Asia, whose market will be larger than the U.S.
• Asia’s potential – Asia coming together in a form very different to the way the West came together, not based on colonialism or global rules but shared value chain interests.
• Countries in the region want partnership with India, as it has the technological capacity and economic heft to balance China.
• Asia, with two-thirds of the global population and wealth, is again at the centre of the world.
• Knotting the region – BRICS, with overlapping membership and policies, the SCO, with its stress on geo-security-economics, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a political-trade grouping, are going to be intertwined.
• The door to re-entry into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is still open.
• This is where trade concessions should be made, which will be outside World Trade Organization rules, including modus vivendi on trade with China, as an alternative market to the U.S.

What are the hard decisions that has to be made by India?

• Operationalisation of ‘strategic autonomy’ – It should be based on India’s uniqueness having two global agendas.
• It has the highest growth rate, huge potential till 2100, the largest labour pool and the highest number of the poor.
• Within the United Nations, India’s foundational sustainable development interests are closer to the Global South.
• India will need to clarify its understanding of ‘partnership’ linking value chains and adjusting priorities without diluting them to avoid accepting the agendas and frameworks of others.
• Framing new rules – Asia had no answer to Europe’s gunboats and later leverage, and interdependence gave immense advantage to the West.
• Interconnectedness of the digital economy is reflected in technological capacity, not diplomacy, leading to military capability.
• Assumptions of foreign, technology and security policies are being questioned as innovation interconnections determine economic growth, political influence and military strength.
• For India, there can be no compromise on national data, endogenous technology innovation, local defence production and inclusive growth.
• Cyber warfare – It should be the central pillar of national security, based on India’s comparative advantage, and not theatre commands as land-based threats have changed.
• Countering pakistan’s move – China has stepped back from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which Pakistan has substituted with expensive Asian Development Bank loans.
• Pakistan has strategic support from the U.S, a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia and increased influence, along with the U.S., in Bangladesh.
• The U.S. is seeking the Bagram base in Afghanistan.
• India has also secured a six-month waiver from U.S. sanctions on Chabahar Port which gave India an opening into Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia.
• Reorienting the defence allocations – The evolving neighbourhood landscape suggests the need for a national debate on reorienting defence allocations.
• By halving the size of the Army and reducing numbers of large (imported) platforms for endogenous Artificial Intelligence (AI), air defence, space, missiles and drones where India has world-class capability — to factor in the need for continuing innovation, with spin-offs for growth.
• An AI future – Shaping the global AI future is necessary for double-digit inclusive growth.
• A Parliamentary Standing Committee has emphasised the need for indigenous research in foundational AI models to ensure sovereign capability.
• Funding should increase at least 20-fold to support national strategic collaboration, high-end computational resources, proprietary models and talent development driven by the Prime Minister’s Office.
• AI sovereignty is now the key requirement to be a global power by 2047.

Reference

The Hindu| India in Asia

New Labour Codes

Why in News?

Recently, the government on Friday (November 21, 2025) notified all four Labour Codes and they replace 29 fragmented laws, some of them dating back to 1930s.

What are the four Labour codes?

• The four Labour Codes
  • Code on Wages (2019),
  • Industrial Relations Code (2020),
  • Code on Social Security (2020)
  • The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code (2020)
• Need for the reform – India’s old labour laws were too many, too complex, and outdated.
  • They increased the compliance burden and discouraged businesses from hiring.
  • Many workers, especially gig, platform, MSME, and migrant workers, had no uniform social security.
  • States had already begun reforming their labour laws, leading to fragmented rules.

What changes will take place for different worker groups?

• Gig & platform workers
  • Legally defined for the first time.
  • Aggregators must contribute 1–2% of turnover (capped at 5% of payouts) to a welfare fund.
  • Commuting accidents are covered as employment-related.
  • Aadhaar-linked UAN enables portability of benefits across states.
• Contractual workers
  • Health and social security benefits are ensured by the principal employer.
  • Free annual health check-ups.
• Women workers
  • Equal pay and prohibition of gender discrimination.
  • Consent-based night work permitted with safety protocols.
  • Up to 26 weeks maternity leave, crèche facilities, medical bonus.
  • Parents-in-law included in the family definition.
• Migrant workers
  • Equal wages and welfare benefits.
  • PDS portability.
  • Claims allowed for pending dues up to three years.
  • Double wages for overtime.
• Sector-specific provisions
  • Covers workers across MSMEs, plantations, beedi and cigar, audio-visual, textile, mines, IT, hazardous industries, ports and export hubs.
  • Major benefits include regulated working hours, double overtime, appointment letters, safety standards, ESI coverage, PPE, annual health check-ups and stronger workplace protections
• Fixed Term Employment
  • The Codes frame Fixed Term Employment as a tool to reduce contractualisation and increase direct employment.
  • Workers receive the same benefits as permanent staff.
  • Wages must be equal to permanent employees.
  • Gratuity eligibility starts after one year instead of five.
  • Leave, working hours and medical benefits are fully regulated.
  • The government argues that FTE promotes formalisation, shifts workers to company payrolls and expands social security coverage

What are the benefits gained from labour reforms in different states?

• Gujarat
  • GSDP reached ₹25.63 trillion in 2023–24, growing 13.36% year-on-year.
  • Manufacturing’s share in GSDP stands at 28–30%, against the national average of 17%.
• Punjab
  • GSDP grew at a CAGR of 9.43% between FY16 and FY24.
  • Expected to touch ₹8.02 lakh crore in FY25.
  • Attracted ₹1.25 lakh crore in investments, expected to generate 4.5 lakh jobs.
• Bihar
  • GSDP projected at ₹9.76 lakh crore in 2024–25, a 13.5% rise over the previous year.
• Maharashtra
  • India’s highest GSDP at ₹42 lakh crore in 2024–25.
  • 5.5% annual growth.
  • ₹1.4 lakh crore in new investments in the past year.
  • Organised manufacturing workforce grew by 3 lakh between 2010–11 and 2017–18.
• Uttar Pradesh
  • Organised manufacturing employment up by 7.4 lakh workers (2014–15 to 2023–24).
• Andhra Pradesh
  • GSDP for 2024–25: ₹16.41 lakh crore (12.5% growth).
  • Investor summits: ₹13.25 lakh crore proposals, 16 lakh projected jobs.
  • Electronics hubs in Sri City and Kopparthy linked to 5,000–7,000 jobs.
  • Organised manufacturing employment rose by 5.7 lakh — the highest among states.
  • Increase of 7.1 percentage points in factories employing 300+ workers.
• Haryana
  • Tertiary-sector employment share rose from 38.8% to 41.9% between 2017–18 and 2019–20.
  • Unemployment fell from 9.3% to 3.4% between 2018–19 and 2023–24.
• Rajasthan
  • Raised thresholds led to 25–30% faster growth in factories employing over 100 workers, compared to the national average.
  • Factory output rose by 20–25%.
  • Organised manufacturing employment increased by 1.22 lakh (2010–11 to 2017–18).
  • Share of employment in large plants (300+ workers) rose from 40.9% to 51.2%.
  • Allowing women to work night shifts resulted in:
  • 3.5% increase in the share of female workers
  • 13% rise in the number of female employees
  • 6.5% higher likelihood of firms employing women

References

1. The Hindu| Labour Codes

2. The Indian Express| New Labour Codes