Suchergebnisse

The study examines the key features and areas of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's policy aimed at boosting the export of weapons, military and special equipment (WMSE) within the broader strategy of reforming the Indian military-industrial complex (MIC). The long-term goal of the Indian government is to achieve "strategic autonomy" in the defence sector. In the short term, Indian arms exports serve as the driving force behind the "Make in India" and "Self-reliant India" programmes - pivotal components of Prime Minister Modi's political agenda. The significant amplification factor for India's export ambitions has been conditioned in part by the escalating border tensions with China since 2017. The export of WMSE is emerging as a crucial tool to strengthen India's bilateral relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region to counterbalance China. Nonetheless, to propel India into the group of the world's leading arms exporters, as well as to gain full "strategic independence," may be hard to achieve even in the long run. Despite systemic reforms in the military-industrial complex, efforts to engage private businesses and attract foreign capital, a number of challenges impede the growth of the defence industry and the export potential of the Indian military-industrial complex. These include the inadequate development of India's manufacturing sector, dependency on foreign technologies, and insufficient funding for military-technical advancements. At the same time, the policy of supporting defence exports and reforming the MIC has been a stable trend in the strategy of the BJP government, playing a crucial role in the fulfillment of its short, medium and long term goals.

The review article describes the results of the new scientific and educational program held at St. Petersburg State University in June 2023, as part of a joint project of SPbSU and the Gorchakov Fund. The 1st "Asian Dialogue" was devoted to the problems of South Asian countries, their socio-political, trade and economic issues, as well as relations with the global powers. The organizers combined experts' discussions with educational activities for the participants of the Summer School, who received an excellent opportunity to communicate directly with a group of well-known experts from Russia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The educational part included debates, a foresight session, situational analysis and a master class. The invited experts took part in most of these activities, so the participants of the summer school got an opportunity to demonstrate their skills in front of a prominent jury. The scientific part included several expert sessions dedicated to the complex issues of relations between South Asian states in the context of current geopolitical turbulence. The key problems of the South Asian region and the specifics of South Asian countries' relations with Russia were discussed in detail, including the nature of bilateral political, trade and economic relations in the context of anti-Russian sanctions, as well as regional security features. Each expert discussion was accompanied by a long question and answer session from the participants of the summer school, who appreciated this opportunity. In general, both participants and experts expressed their hope for the development of such a scientific and educational format in future.