A big development happened in 2025. Nepal started exporting electricity to Bangladesh through India's transmission network. This was the first time Nepalese hydropower was commercially transmitted to Bangladesh via Indian territory. The initial export volume was 40 megawatts. The significance of the agreement is much bigger. It showed that regional energy cooperation can overcome political barriers.
India's rise as a major global power will depend not on the promises of allies or the intentions of adversaries but on its capacity to build economic strength, military capability, technological innovation, and strategic resilience. Partnerships will remain important. Cooperation will remain valuable. Engagement with the United States and other powers will continue to serve Indian interests. But the foundation of India's security cannot rest in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, or any other foreign capital.
However, evolving regional dynamics, particularly China’s expansion and Pakistan’s tactical nuclear developments, continue to test the durability and interpretation of this doctrine. While India has officially reiterated its commitment to No First Use, debates persist within strategic circles about its future applicability under extreme scenarios.
The significance of Shisir Khanal’s visit therefore lies not only in the agreements reached but in the broader message it conveyed. Both Kathmandu and New Delhi are signalling a willingness to move beyond the grievances and suspicions that have periodically defined their interactions. If the emphasis on development diplomacy, economic integration, and pragmatic cooperation is sustained, the current moment could indeed mark the beginning of a new chapter in India–Nepal relations.
EU is now acknowledging what India, through its counter-terrorism dialogues with the West, had been warning for years, that Islamic fundamentalist networks and sleeper cells are active across the EU, writes Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Today, there is nothing in Junagadh and its recent history to indicate the one-time, albeit brief, aspirations of its ambitious and misguided erstwhile Nawab to accede to Pakistan, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Interestingly, the current focus on encouraging inland water transportation along the Ganges and Brahmaputra only reactivates defunct commercial arteries of yesteryear when inland waterways linked Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh has witnessed many instances of mass lynchings, which is a major cause for concern as it looks that respect for rule of law has vanished, writes Aashish Kiphayet for South Asia Monitor
Because of the Congress’s failure to get its act together, the entire opposition in India appears to be in a moribund condition while the BJP has cleverly combined its pitch for vikas or development with an occasional dose of communal animosity to propel itself forward, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
India is witnessing the arrival of a new generation of mobility discourses, which are nuanced enough to provide sustainable urban mobility, says Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Urban Development Minister
In this year’s election Joe Biden won and so did the American democracy. That is a good thing for the United States, for India and indeed for the world, writes Frank F Islam for South Asia Monitor
Joe Biden may not drastically reverse foreign policy decisions of his predecessor like Donald Trump did of Barack Obama but Biden’s novel approaches to issues and regions could have ramifications for South Asia even as India-US relationship continues to grow, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (Retd) for South Asia Monitor
Of the 176 million people expected to be pushed into poverty at the $3.20 per day poverty line, two-thirds are in South Asia. The addition is due to the raising of the poverty estimating line, which has been termed as the new poor, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
India’s timely help to the Maldives is not without detractors, especially the political opposition that has been protesting the presence of the Indian military, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Despite recurrent political chaos, often fuelled by cultural and religious clashes, there are some human rights organisations that are working for the welfare and dignity of each individual in South Asia, writes Reeti Prakash for South Asia Monitor
It would be prudent for Quad to organize itself as a coherent force in an early timeframe to counter the increasing Chinese aggressiveness, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
With both India and the US worried about Chinese designs in Asia and the world, both will be eager to forge strong political, security and economic relations, writes Aneek Chatterjee for South Asia Monitor
Whoever is the winner, the planet would be the loser. The margins of the defeat of the planet would depend on who wins the American presidential race, writes Rajendra Shende for South Asia Monitor
Indeed the time has come when the question should not be whether Pakistan deserves GSP+ privileges, but whether it is time to impose tough economic sanctions on the country, a failed state that has only served to provide a safe haven to tens of thousands of global terrorists and whose only raison d’etre is to kill and harm innocent civilians all around the world and destabilise the peaceful democracies like the European Union and India, writes Sunil Prasad for South Asia Monitor
