Bharat's Role in Shaping the Global South Agenda in 2025

Bharat is set to enter a new era in shaping the Global South agenda as a part of its vibrant foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term, with a commitment to a “new chapter of big decisions” (SK, 2024) for achieving a Viksit Bharat (Developed Bharat) by 2047. Extending from the successes of the past 10 years, this upcoming phase will consolidate Bharat as a world power with strategic parameters of growth, alliances, and active diplomacy in the geopolitical terrain. Modi’s target to make Bharat the world’s third-largest economy by 2027 will catalyze a wave of structural economic changes, promoting sustainable digital infrastructure, advancing energy transitions, and enhancing Bharat’s shock absorption capacities to global financial volatilities. These measures are not just economic policies but tools of soft power, improving Bharat’s standing as a destination for international investment and cooperation in the eyes of both developed and developing countries of the Global South.

- By Prof. Suresh Kumar & Parma Khannawalia

Another agenda that will receive attention from Modi’s foreign policy regime is Bharat’s pursuit of permanent membership in the UNSC, representing the Global South agenda—an ambition Bharat has been harbouring for quite some time now as a testimony to its place on the international stage. It will need to build on its leadership of the Global South and its chairing of the G20, where it was able to build intermediate linkages between the interests of developed and Global South countries. At the same time, efforts to counter the China threat will be stepped up by Modi’s government using the approach of cooperative convergence as well as competitive convergence. Geopolitical issues will continue to be of paramount concern, and as part of Modi’s Neighborhood First policy, New Delhi also seeks to energize relationships with South Asian neighbours through promises of development assistance, infrastructure projects, and connectivity ventures. Bharat’s diplomatic stature in consolidating stability in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and other such nations will form a core component.

Modi’s third term will also involve further cementation of major-power relations with countries such as the US, EU, and members of ASEAN, focusing on arms and technology partnerships and synchronized approaches towards issues such as climate change, supply chain disruptions, and energy security. The Quad will continue to remain one of the most important pillars of Bharat's strategy in the Indo-Pacific, but new arrangements such as the I2U2 and bilateral/multilateral cooperation within and outside BRICS and SCO will also remain relevant for addressing global challenges and asserting Bharat's strategic independence.