Mains Practice Questions

Introduction

The statement signifies a strategic shift in India’s foreign policy doctrine, moving from being a "Rule Taker" to a "Rule Maker." While "power projection" (hard power: military, economy) determines a nation's weight, "norm-setting" (soft/smart power) determines its influence.

• As India claims the mantle of "Vishwa Bandhu" (Friend of the World), its ability to institutionalize rules in Technology, Trade, and Climate is critical for a multipolar global order.

Body;

Technology: Exporting the 'India Stack' Model

• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a Global Norm:
  • The Norm: Promoting open-source, interoperable, and scalable public goods (Aadhaar, UPI, COWIN) rather than closed proprietary systems.
  • Success: The G20 New Delhi Declaration formally recognized DPI as a tool for financial inclusion.
    • Nations like Singapore, UAE, and France have adopted or integrated with India's UPI, setting a benchmark for global digital payments.
  • Data Governance: Through its Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 India is advocating for "Data Sovereignty", the idea that data should empower the citizens who generate it, rather than just foreign corporations.
  • AI Regulation: As the lead chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), India advocates for "Responsible AI" that balances innovation with safety, representing the Global South's concerns against Western AI monopolies.

Trade: The Voice of the Global South

• Reforming the WTO: India aggressively pushes for the "Permanent Peace Clause" on public stockholding for food security, challenging Western agricultural subsidies.
  • It has successfully normalized the idea that food security for the poor overrides rigid trade dogmas.
• Countering Non-Tariff Barriers: India is leading the opposition against "Green Protectionism" (e.g., EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or CBAM).
  • By labeling these as discriminatory, India is shaping the discourse that climate goals should not become trade barriers for developing nations.
• Inclusion of African Union: By championing the African Union's entry into the G20, India has structurally altered global economic governance to be more inclusive, shifting the norm from a "G7-led" agenda to a "Global South-led" agenda.

Climate: From Victim to Solution Provider

• Institutional Leadership:
  • International Solar Alliance (ISA): India created the first treaty-based international organization headquartered in India (Gurugram).
    • It set a global norm that solar energy is a "common good" for the tropical world.
  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI): Setting standards for infrastructure that survives climate disasters, critical for small island nations.
• Lifestyle as a Climate Strategy: Through Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), India introduced a behavioral norm to the UN, shifting focus from solely government policy to individual "Pro-Planet People" behavior.
• Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR): India consistently successfully reinforces the norm that developed nations must pay for their historical emissions, preventing the dilution of this principle in COP summits.

Critical Analysis: Limits to Norm-Setting

Conclusion

India has successfully moved beyond being a "balancer" to becoming a "bridge-builder" in the global order. Its success in DPI and Solar Alliance proves it can generate global public goods. The path to becoming a global rule-maker lies in proving that Indian norms deliver prosperity and equity faster than the Western or Chinese alternatives.