India's Middle-Power Method: Strategic Autonomy and Global Influence

• India consistently employs a 'middle-power method,' balancing neutrality and superpower influence, underpinned by four pillars: strategic autonomy, agenda-setting, economic hedging, and being a first responder to the Global South.
• The upcoming India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, hosting over 100 countries and global CEOs, exemplifies India's role in convening problem-solving coalitions and shaping global agendas, particularly in technology.
• India's foreign policy prioritizes 'multi-alignment,' engaging with diverse global powers (US, Russia, Europe, ASEAN) without entering exclusive blocs, as seen in its G20 presidency and abstentions on UN resolutions regarding Russia.
• Economic hedging involves diversifying trade through FTAs with the UK, New Zealand, Oman, and the EU, and addressing trade imbalances with ASEAN, reducing vulnerability to protectionism.
• India acts as a reliable first responder in crises (Türkiye, Syria, Sudan, Israel) and a development partner, extending significant lines of credit and vaccine aid to 68 countries, especially in the Global South.