My generation of diplomats, by which I mean those of us who worked for nearly four decades between 1975 and 2013 was, I believe, a fortunate one. I propose to confine my thoughts on the heart and craft of diplomacy to five main themes.
India and the European Union concluded a landmark FTA in January 2026 after nearly two decades of negotiations, with both sides describing it as the ‘mother of all deals’. The agreement covers goods, services and regulatory issues but excludes agriculture and investment protection.
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India and the European Union finally shook hands and signed the landmark Free Trade Agreement on January 27, 2026. This deal was widely described as the “mother of all deals” because it took nearly two decades of stalled negotiations to complete.
India is the world’s fastest-growing economy, with growth of 6.4 per cent in 2025 and 2026, according to the IMF. Recognizing the importance of trade in creating jobs and rapidly boosting its economy, New Delhi has signed two very critical trade agreements since the beginning of 2026.
India stands at a pivotal moment in its journey towards universal health coveragea crucial component of the government's Viksit Bharat vision to elevate it to the status of a developed country by 2047, 100 years since its formation as an independent nation
The recently released report from the Lancet Commission calls for ‘a citizen-centred and technology driven system’ for Universal Health Care (UHC) in India. Lack of UHC is a worrying problem for a country of 1.4 billion people