International Relations

Effect of Policies of Other Countries on India

UPSC notes on how the policies and politics of developed and developing countries affect India — tariffs, sanctions, visas, carbon taxes, monetary policy, China and the Gulf.

SyllabusGS II · Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests; Indian diaspora

This syllabus line asks you to read the world from India’s point of view. A US visa rule changes the career of an Indian engineer; a European carbon tax changes the price of Indian steel in Rotterdam; a Gulf labour reform changes remittances to Kerala; a Chinese export ban changes the cost of an electric vehicle in Pune. UPSC Mains asks this line almost every year, usually through a current development.

What UPSC asks

  • Mains: “Examine the impact of [a country’s policy] on India’s interests” — protectionism, sanctions, immigration rules, climate trade measures, China’s Belt and Road, the policies of Gulf states.
  • Prelims: the names and features of the policies themselves — CBAM, CAATSA, GSP, the Inflation Reduction Act, OPEC+, JCPOA.

How this chapter is organised

ChannelExamples
TradeUS tariffs, end of GSP for India, EU CBAM, Chinese dumping
MoneyUS Federal Reserve rate cycles, the 2013 “taper tantrum”
PeopleH-1B rules, student-visa caps, Gulf labour laws
SanctionsIran (Chabahar, oil), Russia (oil, payments), CAATSA
Security and resourcesCPEC, terrorism from Pakistan, rare-earth export controls

Main topic: How the Policies of Other Countries Affect India. The diaspora half of the syllabus line is covered in The Indian Diaspora.