India Watch Briefing #21
GenEI in Berlin, young voices in EU-India tech cooperation, and India beyond hedging
Editor’s note
On 21 June, Generation EU-India (GenEI) held its first in-person event in Berlin. We were thrilled to welcome Sharinee L. Jagtiani (GMF), Leona Harting (Körber Stiftung), and Aditi Mukund (German Chancellor Fellow, GPPi) as guest speakers. The event was very well received and gave us a valuable opportunity to connect directly with people –especially young people– interested in the EU-India corridor. We are excited to bring similar events to Brussels and Paris in the near future.
In this edition, I highlight 3 outstanding contributions by young scholars and professionals. Manisha Bieber and Dimitrios Margellos have done excellent research on migration in the context of Indo-German relations. I had the chance to contribute to this paper alongside Avtansh Behal, and it really shows what is possible when young EU and Indian perspectives come together. The second piece by Simmi Saini and Harry Björklund offers fresh insights on how to improve EU-India tech cooperation. Lastly, Aaron Magunna contributes an academic piece that explores how India is navigating US-China competition over infrastructure and technology networks.
Bonus: In the EU-India relations section of this newsletter, do not miss the interview with EU Ambassador to India, Hervé Delphin, in The Indian Express, and make sure to check out his appearance on CNBCTV18 as well.
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Our main highlights for this edition:
“Capturing talent: The role of Indian migration in Europe’s economic growth and lessons from Germany’s success” by Manisha Barbara Bieber and Dimitrios L. Margellos for Generation EU-India
“Europe faces critical demographic challenges and skills shortages, particularly in STEM fields, while simultaneously witnessing rising antiimmigration sentiment. This analysis demonstrates how Indian migrants represent a significant economic opportunity, contributing disproportionately to European economies through high earnings, social insurance payments, and filling critical skills gaps. Using Germany as a case study, where Indian workers earn the highest median salary among all nationalities (€5,390), including Germans themselves, and retention rates lead OECD countries, this analysis examines successful talent attraction strategies amidst persistent integration barriers. India's growing talent pool is increasingly interested in European countries in addition to traditional destinations like the US and the UK, creating a strategic opportunity for the European Union. However, administrative hurdles, language barriers, a paucity of data, and inadequate integration support threaten Europe's competitiveness in the global talent market. Targeted policy reforms can transform these challenges into economic advantages.”
“Accelerating EU-India Critical Tech Cooperation: Drivers for Digital Synergy” by Simmi Saini and Harry Björklund for The Swedish Institute of International Affairs
“Critical technologies are increasingly vital to global economic and political collaboration and competition. Both the European Union (EU) and India have recognized the strategic importance of these technologies and have committed to enhancing their capabilities through bilateral cooperation. This policy brief assesses the current state of EU-India technology cooperation and analyses bilateral engagements between India and individual EU Member States. In order to build on what has already been achieved but also to foster a more structured, strategic, and impactful partnership in critical technology domains, the brief proposes to establish a Coalition of the Willing through the formation of a group of EU Member States with strong existing ties to India to lead collaborative efforts; to initiate a EU-India Tech Hub and establish a central platform to coordinate and scale joint technology initiatives; and to set up a EU-India Talent Exchange Program to facilitate mobility and skill-sharing in critical tech sectors to build human capital.”
“Beyond hedging: understanding India’s polyalignment in the Second Cold War” by Aaron Magunna for Third World Quarterly
“As China-US competition intensifies, Indian foreign policy has engaged with China, the US, and other actors in the infrastructure domain and technology networks. What factors and dynamics shape this polyalignment? The existing literature has primarily conceptualised India’s foreign policy behaviour as ‘hedging’. Conversely, this paper argues that India’s polyalignment in infrastructure and technology networks is shaped by the fragmented nature of foreign policy decision-making authority in India and the relations between the Modi government, different fractions of domestic capital, and their allies in the state apparatus. In the infrastructure domain, political cronies benefit from a securocrat-driven anti-China policy that protects domestic markets and creates new investment opportunities abroad. In technology networks, however, capitalists favouring greater access to the Chinese market and their partners in economic ministries have successfully promoted renewed openness to China. While both policies are consistent with the interests of domestic capital, the latter is inconsistent with India’s stated national security interests – demonstrating that class power, not a clever hedging strategy, defines the exact contours of India’s response to the ‘Second Cold War’. The paper ultimately demonstrates the need to consider how state transformation dynamics shape political decisions within the context of networked competition.”
Indian Foreign Policy in Brief
“Fortifying Minerals Diplomacy: Four Nations, Four Solutions” by Mahnaz Khan for the American Foreign Service Association
“Japan and India also play an important role in securing critical minerals assets through the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL). JOGMEC, a state-backed Japanese entity, funds overseas mining projects, facilitates joint ventures, and provides financial assistance to secure stable supplies of rare earths, cobalt, and nickel—resources vital for Japan’s advanced manufacturing sector. KABIL, a joint venture of Indian state-owned enterprises, was created to identify, acquire, and develop critical minerals resources abroad to reduce India’s dependence on China. KABIL is actively engaging in partnerships in Africa and Latin America to secure lithium and rare earth elements essential for India’s growing EV and defense industries. Australia also actively invests in critical minerals projects abroad through its $4 billion Critical Minerals Facility, managed by Export Finance Australia (EFA).”
“Building India’s Technology and Semiconductor Industries: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Policy” by ISAS
“Export Controls: Balancing the Tensions Between U.S. and Indian Priorities” by Konark Bhandari for Council on Foreign Relations
“The rise in Indian defense exports has global implications, as India is not only exporting to Russia but to other countries as well. For example, Indian artillery shells have allegedly been used by Ukraine and by Israel in Gaza.9 Some of this can be attributed to covert trade channels built within India to ensure a steady supply of arms to Russian entities involved in the war in Ukraine.10 Russian consortiums have also tried to set up facilities to manufacture electronic items in India and subsequently export them to Russia, as the inputs and components needed to make electronics items would not be available to Russian entities in Russia itself. At the same time, Indian defense firms’ pivot to Russia could also be driven by profiteering given high markups due to the war in Ukraine.11 India’s Make-in-India and Production-Linked-Incentive schemes to boost domestic manufacturing mean that India not only produces more locally but also imports more from China due to assembly operations. Specifically, demand is high for Chinese computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools used to shape and form metal for use in defense production, especially for weaponry. Further, in addition to importing them,recent reporting suggests that India could have begun exporting such CNC machine tools, and data from India’s Ministry of Commerce shows a staggering 50,088 percent growth in exports to Russia from 2022–23 to 2023–24.”
Spotlight on EU-India Relations
“Unveiling the Indo-Dutch Quantum Frontier – In Search of Opportunities to Integrate Ecosystems” by the Quantum Ecosystems Technology Council of India (QETCI) in collaboration with Dutch Embassy in India
“Quantum science and technologies (QST) is poised to transform global industries, from computing and cybersecurity to healthcare and advanced manufacturing. As nations race to establish leadership in this domain, India and the Netherlands are uniquely positioned to collaborate, leveraging their respective strengths to build a more robust, globally competitive quantum ecosystem. The Netherlands has positioned itself as a European leader in quantum hardware, photonics, and network infrastructure, with robust academic institutions and cutting-edge research. Meanwhile, India, with its ambitious National Quantum Mission (NQM), is rapidly developing expertise in quantum computing, cryptography, and industry applications, supported by a growing startup ecosystem and a strong talent pipeline. Both India and Netherlands recognize that quantum success is not a solitary pursuit—it demands cross-border collaboration, shared research, and co-development of technologies. This report captures the potential, challenges, and opportunities in forging a deeper Indo-Dutch quantum partnership. […] One of the biggest challenges to collaboration in QST between India and the Netherlands is the limited connectivity between the two countries’ research institutions and industries. When we initiated this study, we discovered that awareness of each other’s quantum ecosystems was minimal, and existing connections were sparse. However, as we organized the first roundtable and conducted in-depth interviews, the process itself fostered greater knowledge of the opportunities available in both countries. As this study progressed, we witnessed multiple stakeholder visits from both sides, which not only facilitated the emergence of new opportunities but also enabled their successful utilization by both countries. This is an indication of the fact that establishing a structured mechanism for continuous engagement in QST will have a transformative impact.”
“Hervé Delphin at Idea Exchange: ‘EU-India is not just a relationship, it’s become a tangible commodity’” - Interview with EU Ambassador to India, Hervé Delphin, by The Indian Express
“The key pillars of this new strategic agenda are trade and economy, security and defence, technology, mobility and global partnerships, including connectivity. Arguably, security and defence were not so much in the landscape a few years ago. But, now we are a continent at war. There is an aggressor that decided to launch a war of choice on a sovereign country which is really a European neighbour. And that sent shockwaves through our system. In security and defence, the EU collectively has increased its expenditures by 30 per cent, between 2021 and 2024. Now it’s about $350 billion. Looking at strategic and defence partnerships, the authorisation to have one with India is on the table of the Council and we are confident that will be authorised. This is what I call the political pathway. […] China is one of our largest trade partners. But it’s a trade which runs with over $300 billion deficit. And that is a cause of concern for the EU, the same way India has over $100 billion trade deficit with China. So we’re engaging and expecting concrete deeds from China to rebalance the market distortion. The second talking point with China is its support to Russia in the war. We are telling them that it cannot be business as usual if these two things are not addressed. In parallel, we are in the business of increasing diversification because every shock we have faced in the past has shown that whether Covid or wars or China, it is not a good policy to be over-dependent on one single provider. This is also a positive element in the EU-India equation. If India can ramp up the production of photovoltaic panels, of legacy microchips at competitive prices, the world will be better for everyone.”
“India and European Union drawing closer to navigate Trump, China pressures” by Debarshi Dasgupta for The Straits Times
The White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030, released in March 2025, calls for furthering the security and defence partnership with India, while noting that China’s increasing military actions in the Indo-Pacific had contributed to a “deteriorating strategic context”. Dr Blarel, however, noted the EU is still not perceived as a military actor, even though it has made efforts to position itself as one. The Readiness 2030 initiative seeks to mobilise up to €800 billion to strengthen Europe’s defence infrastructure in response to geopolitical threats. “The EU is not one cohesive entity when it comes to defence strategy and it doesn’t speak with a single voice on this count,” he added. “For instance, are member states such as Germany and France going to compete to boost their own bilateral defence partnership with India, including through competition to win defence contracts? Or are they going to work together to strengthen the overall EU defence partnership with India?”
“While visiting the European ships ahead of the exercise, the EU Ambassador to India, H.E. Hervé Delphin, emphasised the value of such activities. ‘The strategic importance of the Indian Ocean is as crucial for the EU as it is for India,’ he said. ‘There is a strong interest and momentum on both EU and India sides to deepen our cooperation from political to operational cooperation levels.’ […] The naval exercise is a key step in the growing cooperation between the EU and India. It followed the first ever port call of EUNAVFOR ATALANTA ships in India, carried out in Mumbai on 26-31 May 2025. Port calls, or naval visits to foreign ports, are a significant aspect of defence cooperation, fostering interoperability between partners.”
Spotlight on “Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai”
“How Vulnerable Is India to Chinese Economic Coercion?” by Sushant Singh for the United States Institute of Peace
“China benefits from India's increasing trade dependence, creating a strategic vulnerability for India and potentially harming its Western partners. India’s dependency also risks undermining the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, particularly if it were to constrain India’s support for U.S.-led initiatives due to concerns of economic retaliation from China. While New Delhi cannot fully eliminate its reliance on crucial imports from China, it is strategically essential for India to mitigate risks in its economic ties. This includes implementing stricter checks on Chinese investments in Indian firms and re-examining suspected Chinese investments from third-country jurisdictions. By taking these steps, India can strengthen its economic resilience and safeguard its strategic interests in the face of growing geopolitical challenges.”
“India needs a strategy to deal with China’s restrictions on exports of rare earths” by The Indian Express
“In 2025, India launched a National Critical Mineral Mission to help achieve self-reliance in the critical mineral sector. Under this, the Geological Survey of India is expected to conduct 1,200 exploration projects by 2030-31. This issue needs to be tackled at multiple levels. The objective should be to secure supplies in the short term so as to prevent disruptions across industries, while also focusing on expanding domestic exploration, mining and processing and firming up alternative sources of supply.”
Upcoming Events on India's Foreign Policy and South Asia’s Governance (& Opportunities)
Junior Visiting Fellowship at CIDOB – Call for Applications: Are you a young researcher (under 30) in International Relations looking for a unique research opportunity? CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs), with the support of Fundación Banco Sabadell, is now accepting applications for the fifth edition of its Programa Talent Global. This Junior Visiting Fellowship offers two paid six-month research stays in Barcelona, where selected candidates will join CIDOB’s research team to develop their own projects in a vibrant and supportive environment. I had the chance to be a fellow in the 2024–2025 cohort, focusing on Indian foreign policy, and can truly recommend it as a rewarding professional and personal experience. Full info here.
“How ASEAN Views India’s Role in the Indo-Pacific”: Tomorrow (3 PM IST), Chintan Research Foundation will host a webinar exploring how ASEAN perceives India’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. The discussion will address India’s Act East Policy, ASEAN’s evolving strategic priorities, and broader regional geopolitics. Speakers include Piyanat Soikham, Ratih Indraswari, Le Thu Mach, and Benjamin Barton. You can register here.
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