India’s strategic approach to multilateral diplomacy

When it comes to multilateral diplomacy, it holds great significance for countries. It empowers them to solve cross-border challenges with the help of cooperation and consensus. India’s approach to multilateral diplomacy can be defined by:

• Strategic balancing – It involves engaging developing nations as well as advanced economies.

• Bridging gaps – It means acting as a mediator between divergent geopolitical blocs to allow open channels across nations.

• Agenda leadership – It pertains to prioritising digital governance, climate action, global security, and inclusive development.

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Unmatchable legacy of craft

India’s textile heritage goes back hundreds of years, blending craft with scale. The textile industry is still the second-largest employer in India after agriculture. It supports over 45 million workers directly and even more indirectly. The country boasts of an unparalleled and diversified raw material production, ranging from jute to silk and technical fabrics.

However, the last three decades have seen a shift in global value chains and growing competition from countries like China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. This has resulted in diverted apparel orders, causing a decline in demand for Indian textiles. Fragmented production, high logistics costs, and limited modernisation of the textile sector are primary reasons driving this decline.

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Bridging the gap between policy design and delivery

India boasts of prolific policy makers with the best infrastructure blueprints, investment incentives, and digitisation missions. But we cannot ignore that the conversion from vision to measurable results is not without procedural complexity and limited ground-level capacity. One example is the GST that helped unify national taxation but tested organisations with compliance complexity. Labor reforms remain mired in non-uniform state adoption. These gaps underline that ambitious policy must sync with robust execution frameworks for real impact.

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The evolution of circular thinking

Circular Economy 2.0 goes beyond basic recycling and waste management. It focuses on creating a unique narrative around waste management where waste streams are converted into raw materials. This goes a long way in building closed-loop systems that minimise environmental impact while maximising economic value. This modern take on waste management uses avant-garde technologies such as AI, blockchain tracking, and advanced materials science to optimise resource recovery and utilisation.

Read the full blog here: https://sunilbajaj.in/resources/blog/circular-economy-2-0-waste-to-wealth/

Universal Social Security

India had a fragmented social security system for decades. This left many workers unprotected, especially those in informal or gig jobs. Coverage stood at 19% in 2015, and it has surged to 64.3%, encompassing over 94 crore people. This is the first time that gig and platform workers, who form a major segment of the economy, are included under social security provisions. They are receiving protections like a provident fund and insurance contributions through their employers.

The new labour codes are designed not only to extend benefits but also to simplify compliance for employers. The presence of a single, unified registration system reduces the administrative burden on businesses. Workers gain minimum wage protection across all sectors. They enjoy better overtime pay rules and more secure job contracts. Women workers benefit from new safeguards requiring written consent for night shifts and enhanced safety measures.

Read the full blog here: https://sunilbajaj.in/resources/blog/india-social-security-new-labor-codes-reforms/

Zoho

Digital sovereignty is the most integral element that has pushed India towards homegrown technology. It refers to the control over data and digital infrastructure within national borders. Leading companies such as Zoho exemplify this transformation as they build their entire technology stack, including hardware and software, locally in India. Zoho ensures that its data remains within India and is compliant with Indian laws. This significantly reduces dependence on foreign cloud infrastructure and proprietary software.

Digital sovereignty is vital for enhancing national security, as the government and businesses are more inclined towards local alternatives than international tech giants. This kind of strategic step is part of a broader governmental vision to make India self-reliant in technology that is sovereign and secure.

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India is striding towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. It is clearly evident that the country is focused on grand policy announcements and revolutionary reforms. However, a closer look reveals a different picture. India’s journey towards a $30 trillion economy comprises interim targets like achieving $10 trillion by the mid-2030s, which relies more on institutional consistency and effective implementation rather than just new policy announcements.

The current scenario

India’s economy has experienced a fourfold increase since 2000, demonstrating remarkable resilience and establishing itself as the world’s fifth-largest economy with 3.4% of global GDP. As per government projections, India’s GDP is expected to reach $7.3 trillion by 2030, positioning it as the third-largest economy.

However, achieving the ambitious 2047 vision requires sustaining an average annual growth rate of 7.8-8% for the next two decades – a feat that demands more than just policy innovation.

The implementation gap challenge

Despite India’s policy-making prowess, we face a significant implementation gap between policy formulation and execution. Research has revealed several drawbacks, including bureaucratic barriers, resource constraints, corruption, lack of political consensus, and inadequate accountability systems. These hurdles reveal a harsh truth: the most well-designed policies are bound to fail in the absence of institutional frameworks that ensure consistent, long-term execution.

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The approach of values-led leadership goes beyond the concept of corporate social responsibility or regulatory compliance. It can be better defined as a fundamental philosophy rooted in integrity, empathy, and long-term stewardship. Talking of India, this is not just a best practice but a strategic necessity that can be its greatest competitive advantage.

The Indian Context – Trust and Talent

Indian businesses come with their own set of challenges and opportunities. On one hand, there is a deep cultural heritage that values community, respect for elders, and a sense of trusteeship. These values are commonly seen in large family-run businesses. On the other hand, rapid modernisation, globalisation, and fierce competition demand world-class governance and transparency.

Values-led transparency bridges this gap. When leaders operate with an unwavering commitment to ethics, they create a high-trust environment. This is critical in a country where informal networks and reputation still heavily influence business decisions. A company known for its integrity attracts better partners, secures easier access to capital, and navigates complexities with greater credibility.

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If you want to look at the bigger picture, then you have to look at the history of India’s labour laws. They have always been notoriously complex. There were different sets of rules for different states with several overlapping regulations. Add to that the compliance standards that were a nightmare for businesses, especially smaller ones. The new labour codes have come as a sigh of relief intending to change this intricacy by consolidating everything into four main categories: Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions.

What Workers Can Expect?

Workers have a good news: their take home salary might initially decrease, but overall benefits will improve. As per the New Wage Code, allowances are capped at 50% of total compensation. This means that your PF contributions will be calculated on a higher base. It will potentially increase your retirement corpus by 15-20% over your career.

The gig economy workers – delivery partners, freelancers, and app-based workers- finally get recognition. Approximately 77 lakh gig workers will now be eligible for social security benefits, a massive step towards inclusive growth.

Women workers gain strong protection too. They will be entitled to provisions for working night shifts (with safety measures). This will surely help open up more employment opportunities.

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The New Threat Triangle: AI, Identity, and Geopolitics

The Indian cyberspace is a hotbed of activity. A staggering 265 million cyberattacks were recorded in the country in 2025, with Trojans and File Infectors accounting for nearly 70% of all detections. But the real game-changer is the quality, not just the quantity, of the threats.

1. The Weaponisation of AI

Cybercriminals are now masters of efficiency, leveraging GenAI to rapidly create hyper-realistic deepfake scams and highly convincing, customised phishing campaigns. This has made the human element the most vulnerable entry point. While organisations race to adopt AI for efficiency, the security lag is a significant concern: only 37% of companies report having processes to assess the security of AI tools before deployment. This “Shadow AI” adoption within enterprises is creating a massive, unguarded attack surface.

2. The Identity Crisis

The traditional network perimeter is dead. With remote work and cloud adoption, the new perimeter is digital identity. Attackers know the fastest route to critical data is through compromised credentials. Non-Human Identities (NHIs)—the machine identities for bots, software, and cloud processes—now outnumber human users by a massive ratio, and they are increasingly being targeted.

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