Analyze the political, strategic and economic outcomes of India's Act East policy.

India Act East Policy is an excellent platform to deepen and strengthen its relationship with the ASEAN and East Asian countries. There has been a special focus on countries like Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam as they form a quarter of Asian population and around 12% of the GDP of the region. The policy began as merely an economic initiative has also gained momentum on political, strategic and cultural dimensions.
Outcomes:

• Many developed nations prefer lower cost economies as a perfect destination for manufacturing. The policy thus holds great strategic significance as it is highly instrumental in developing value chains in the region in partnership with four least-developed economies of the ASEAN.
• This has great economic significance as it seeks to boost trade and investment along with the development of infrastructure projects for increased transport connectivity.
• Furthermore, it has the potential for human capacity development via small projects with great impact on poverty alleviation programme.
• There is tremendous scope for increasing bilateral trade with a special focus on exports and imports.
• There is also increased convergence on security matters and thus closer cooperation is required to combat terrorism and promoting peace and stability in the region.

However, the current season of grand and diverse alliances calls for extra caution on multiple fronts and the need to strike a balance for the success of its Act East pivot.  
 
 

Topics: GS-II: India's Foreign Policy Neighbourhood International Relations