Evaluate the economic and strategic dimensions of India’s Look East Policy in the context of the post Cold War international scenario.
Approach · directive: “evaluate”
What it asks · Assess how the Look East Policy served India's economic and strategic interests in the post-Cold War world, with its gains and limits.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Evaluate the economic dimension of the Look East Policy: gains and limits
- Evaluate the strategic dimension in the post-Cold War scenario: gains and limits
Open with · Launched in the early 1990s, the Look East Policy reconnected India with Southeast and East Asia after the Cold War and its own economic liberalisation.
Cover
- Context: the end of the Cold War and loss of the Soviet balance, together with liberalisation, pushed India to engage Asia-Pacific economies.
- Institutional ladder: ASEAN sectoral dialogue partner (1992), full dialogue partner (1996), summit-level ties (2002) and East Asia Summit membership (2005).
- Economic gains: the India-ASEAN free trade agreement in goods (2010), rising trade and investment, and connectivity such as the Kaladan project and Trilateral Highway.
- Strategic gains: balancing China's rise, securing sea lanes, and defence and maritime cooperation with Vietnam, Singapore, Japan and Indonesia.
- Northeast link: connecting the Northeast to Myanmar and ASEAN aims to turn a landlocked region into a gateway.
- Limits: slow connectivity projects, trade deficits with ASEAN and China's weight; the policy was upgraded to Act East in 2014.
Close with · The policy achieved a lasting economic and strategic presence in Asia-Pacific; delivery on connectivity and trade will decide its next phase.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 272 words (UPSC limit 200) · Minimalist IAS
Launched in the early 1990s under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, the Look East Policy answered two post-Cold War shocks at once: the loss of the Soviet Union as India's principal partner, and the need after the 1991 crisis to plug into Asia's fastest-growing economies.
Economic dimension
- Institutional ladder: ASEAN sectoral dialogue partner (1992), full dialogue partner (1996), annual summits from 2002 and East Asia Summit membership (2005).
- Trade and investment: the India–ASEAN free trade agreement in goods (2010) and a comprehensive economic agreement with Singapore (2005) raised trade and drew investment.
- Connectivity: the Kaladan multi-modal project through Myanmar and the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway aim to turn the landlocked Northeast into a gateway.
- Limits: a widening trade deficit with ASEAN, slow-moving connectivity projects, and late liberalisation of services, where India is competitive.
Strategic dimension
- Balancing: engagement with Southeast Asia and Japan gave India weight against China's growing influence in the region.
- Maritime: securing the sea lanes towards the Malacca Strait through naval exercises, port calls and defence cooperation with Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.
- Forums: membership of the ASEAN Regional Forum (1996) and the East Asia Summit brought India into Asia-Pacific security dialogue.
- Northeast: treating the region as a bridge to Myanmar and ASEAN linked internal security and development to foreign policy.
- Limits: China's economic weight in ASEAN far exceeds India's; instability in Myanmar and insurgent sanctuaries slow projects; 'looking' outpaced 'acting', which is why the policy was recast as Act East in 2014.
Economically and strategically the policy gave India a lasting presence in the Asia-Pacific; delivery on connectivity and trade will decide whether Act East converts that presence into real leverage.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.