India's Strategic Partnerships Notes for UPSC: India-Japan, India-France, India-European Union and India-Australia Relations Explained with Agreements, Defence, Trade and Issues
Komal Gupta
UPSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
In this note
- 1.Why Study India's Strategic Partnerships?
- 2.India-Japan Relations
- 3.India-France Relations
- 4.India-European Union Relations
- 5.India-Australia Relations
- 6.A Comparative View
- 7.Common Themes in the Partnerships
- 8.Recent Trends and Current Affairs Hooks
- 9.The Mains Angle: Strategic Autonomy and the Way Forward
- 10.Previous-Year Style Practice
- 11.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
PDF Notes: India's Strategic Partnerships Notes for UPSC: India-Japan, India-France, India-European Union and India-Australia Relations Explained with Agreements, Defence, Trade and Issues
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India's foreign policy is based on strategic autonomy: it builds partnerships with many countries on the basis of the shared interests, and does not join any single bloc. In the last two decades, India has developed deep partnerships with major economies outside its immediate neighbourhood: Japan, France, the European Union and Australia. These partnerships bring investment, technology, defence supplies, the market access and the support on the global platforms. For UPSC, they are asked in the Prelims through the agreements, the exercises and the projects, and in the Mains through the analysis of the opportunities and the challenges. These notes explain the relations with each partner in a similar structure: the framework, the economic ties, the defence and the strategic cooperation, the technology, the issues, and the way forward.
Why Study India's Strategic Partnerships?
The partnerships with the middle and the great powers help India to balance the competing pressures, to diversify the supply chains, to modernise its defence and to shape the Indo-Pacific. Each question is usually based on a recent visit, a summit or an agreement, so a good note should connect the long-term framework with the latest developments. Read this with our notes on India's Foreign Policy, Global Groupings and India-ASEAN Relations and Act East Policy.
India-Japan Relations
| Aspect | Key Points |
|---|---|
| Framework | Special Strategic and Global Partnership (2014); an annual summit between the Prime Ministers; the 2+2 dialogue of the Foreign and the Defence Ministers |
| Economy | The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA, 2011); Japan is a leading source of the FDI and the ODA (Official Development Assistance); in 2022 Japan announced a target of 5 trillion yen investment over five years |
| Infrastructure | The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (the bullet train) with the Japanese technology and the soft loan; the Delhi Metro; the Dedicated Freight Corridor; the development in the North-East |
| Defence | The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA, 2020); the JIMEX naval exercise, the Dharma Guardian army exercise and the Veer Guardian air exercise; the Malabar exercise |
| Strategic | Both are the members of the Quad; the vision of the free and open Indo-Pacific; the cooperation under the Asia Africa Growth Corridor |
| Culture and people | Buddhism as the shared heritage; the Japanese language teaching; the large number of the Japanese companies in India |
| Issues | The trade deficit, the slow pace of some projects, the land acquisition delays and the regional security concerns about China |
India-France Relations
| Aspect | Key Points |
|---|---|
| Framework | The Strategic Partnership of 1998, the first one for India with a major power after the nuclear tests; the Horizon 2047 roadmap (2023) for the next 25 years |
| Defence | The Rafale fighter aircraft, the Scorpene submarines built in India under the Project 75, the Shakti army exercise, the Varuna naval exercise and the Garuda air exercise; France has supported India's nuclear programme and the defence manufacturing in India |
| Space and nuclear | The long cooperation between the ISRO and the CNES; the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra |
| Climate and energy | The International Solar Alliance was launched jointly by India and France in 2015 at the Paris climate conference |
| Multilateral | France supports India's bid for the permanent seat in the UN Security Council and the membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group |
| People | The cooperation in the Indo-Pacific; the Indian students in France and the Indian diaspora; Puducherry has the old French connection |
| Issues | The costs and the timelines of the big defence projects, and the issues of the nuclear liability law |
India-European Union Relations
The EU is one of India's largest trading partners and a major source of the investment. The relation moved to a Strategic Partnership in 2004. The main items are the following.
- Trade: The talks on the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), the free trade agreement, began in 2007 and were stalled in 2013, then relaunched in 2022, along with the separate negotiations on the Investment Protection Agreement and the Geographical Indications agreement. Issues such as the tariffs on the autos and the wines, the data security status, the labour and the environment standards, and the intellectual property remain the sticking points.
- EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC, 2022): The second such council the EU has, after the one with the US, on the trusted technology, the digital governance, the green technology and the trade.
- Connectivity Partnership (2021): A programme for the sustainable connectivity, and the EU's Global Gateway initiative, linked with the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
- Climate and green transition: Cooperation in the clean energy and the climate, but the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that puts the carbon price on the imports of the steel, the aluminium, the cement, the fertilisers and others is a concern for the Indian exporters, who see it as a trade barrier.
- Other: The regular summits, the cooperation on the counter-terrorism, the Horizon Europe research programme, and the large number of the Indian students and professionals in Europe.
India-Australia Relations
| Aspect | Key Points |
|---|---|
| Framework | The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2020); the annual summits; the 2+2 dialogue (since 2021) |
| Economy | The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) came into effect in December 2022; Australia supplies the coal, the critical minerals and the education services; India exports the pharmaceuticals, the textiles and the gems |
| Critical minerals | Cooperation for the supply of lithium, cobalt and the rare earths, with the Australian partners and the Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) |
| Defence | The Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement (2020); the AUSINDEX naval exercise; the Malabar exercise; the Australian participation in the Quad |
| Education and people | Many Indian students in Australia and a large Indian-origin community; the cricket and the Commonwealth links |
| Strategic | The shared interest in the stable Indo-Pacific, the freedom of navigation and the security of the sea lanes |
| Issues | The safety of the Indian students in the past, the visa matters and the coal and the climate debates |
A Comparative View
| Partner | Special Strength | Key Project or Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Capital, technology and the infrastructure | Bullet train, the Act East projects, ACSA |
| France | Defence and the strategic autonomy, the space and the nuclear | Rafale, Scorpene, the ISA |
| EU | The trade, the technology and the market | FTA talks, the TTC, the CBAM issue |
| Australia | Critical minerals, the education and the Indo-Pacific security | ECTA, the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement |
Common Themes in the Partnerships
- Diversification of the defence supply from the dependence on a single source and the move towards "Make in India" production with the foreign partners.
- Supply chain resilience, especially for the critical minerals, the semiconductors and the pharmaceuticals.
- Climate and the clean energy cooperation, including the solar, the green hydrogen and the finance.
- The Indo-Pacific and the Quad, which links Japan and Australia directly and France and the EU indirectly through their Indo-Pacific strategies.
- People-to-people ties: the students, the professionals and the diaspora as a "living bridge".
Recent Trends and Current Affairs Hooks
Because the questions are often linked to the news, keep a record of the latest developments in each relation: the dates and the outcomes of the summits and the 2+2 dialogues, the status of the trade negotiations with the EU and the other partners, the new defence deals and the joint exercises, the milestones of the bullet train project, the progress on the critical minerals deals with Australia, and the joint statements on the Indo-Pacific. For each one, write down the date, the agreement or the decision, and one sentence on why it matters. Doing this for even 10 minutes a week gives you the fresh examples for the Mains answers and the Interview, and it helps in the elimination of the wrong options in the Prelims statement questions.
The Mains Angle: Strategic Autonomy and the Way Forward
A good answer to a question on India's strategic partnerships says that India follows a policy of the multi-alignment: it builds the strong ties with many powers for its own national interest. The advantage is the access to the technology, the investment and the diplomatic support, and the greater bargaining power. The challenges are the balancing of the relations with the competing powers, the delay in implementation, the trade barriers and the sensitive issues such as the climate rules and the data protection. The way forward is to conclude the trade agreements with the balance of the interests, to build the domestic capabilities, to use the partnerships for the Indo-Pacific cooperation, and to keep the principles of the sovereignty and the rule of law.
Previous-Year Style Practice
- With which country did India sign its first strategic partnership in 1998? Answer: France.
- Which agreement of 2022 is between India and Australia? Answer: The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).
- Which naval exercise is held between India and Japan? Answer: JIMEX.
- What is the CBAM? Answer: The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tax on the carbon content of some imports.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When was the India-France strategic partnership started?
In 1998, the first strategic partnership of India with a major power.
What is the India-Japan partnership called?
The Special Strategic and Global Partnership, established in 2014.
Which project in India is built with the Japanese help for the fast rail?
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (the bullet train).
What is ECTA between India and Australia?
The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, in force since December 2022.
What is the India-EU Trade and Technology Council?
A forum set up in 2022 for the cooperation on trade, trusted technology and the digital governance.
What is CBAM?
The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which puts a carbon price on the imports of certain goods.
Which naval exercise is held between India and France?
The Varuna exercise.
Which international body did India and France start together?
The International Solar Alliance (2015).
What is ACSA between India and Japan?
The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement of 2020 for the logistics support.
Which groupings link India, Japan and Australia?
The Quad and the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative.
What is meant by strategic autonomy?
The policy of making independent foreign policy decisions based on the national interest, without joining a single bloc.
How are these partnerships asked in UPSC?
As the agreements, the exercises and the projects in the Prelims, and as the analytical questions on the multi-alignment in the Mains.
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Komal Gupta
UPSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
Komal is a senior UPSC exam strategist with 8+ years of experience helping aspirants crack CSE, CDS and NDA exams. She writes in-depth notification breakdowns, exam pattern guides and preparation strategies.