India E-Commerce Report 2026: Innovation in the Merchandise Space

CSEP | Laveesh Bhandari, Janak Raj, Aashi Gupta and Indramani Tiwari

India’s e-commerce market has grown from USD 14 billion in 2014 to about USD 120–130 billion by 2024, with projections suggesting USD 300–350 billion by 2030. A CSEP report argues that the sector is becoming core economic infrastructure, linking buyers and sellers across India’s dispersed geography and lowering search and access costs. Growth rests on wider internet access, digital payments and changing consumption. The direction is clear.

Amazon and Flipkart, including Myntra and Shopsy, hold about 55–65% market share and 87% of monthly web traffic. Yet profitability remains difficult: average revenue per user is roughly USD 107, against USD 1,330 in China, while cash-on-delivery accounts for almost 50% of orders. Last-mile delivery represents about 60% of logistics cost per parcel, and return rates range from 25 to 40%. The report calls for better measurement, enforcement against specific anti-competitive conduct and attention to gig workers.

China This Week: Governance Signals That Matter

Xinanigans | Erika Lafrennie

China proposed on October 16 adding 40 technologies, including 23 in artificial intelligence, to its catalogue of prohibited or restricted exports. Fourteen would be banned and 26 would need a licence. Until the catalogue is final, exporters of the listed technologies must register before transferring ownership abroad or letting a foreign entity take control, and pending deals are covered.

Erika Lafrennie reads this as Beijing separating where Chinese firms operate from where their intellectual property lives. From November 18, exporters need a licence to ship tunnel boring machines and their key parts to sensitive countries and regions in dispute with China. On October 21, Wang Yi and Djibouti’s foreign minister, Abdoulkader Houssein Omar, issued a joint communiqué opposing Somaliland’s bid for recognition and any collusion with Taiwan. It commits Djibouti to no specific action. The first marker is November 15, when comments on the catalogue close.

On oil, the US keeps India guessing

The Indian Express | Shifali Goyal

The United States temporarily waived specified duties and sanctions under the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on October 16, easing immediate tariff pressure on India without removing the underlying threat. President Trump’s decision followed his October 9 statement that Russia would supply several million tons of diesel to US and global markets. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would take around 60 days to assess the waiver’s implications. The relief remains reversible.

The Act authorises duties of up to 500 per cent on direct US imports from Russia and up to 100 per cent on goods from the five largest buyers of Russian crude and gas in the previous year if they make new purchases from October 18. The 100 per cent tariff is discretionary, making the legislation a potential bargaining instrument. India’s combined US duties reached 50 per cent in August 2025, including an extra 25 per cent linked to Russian oil, while a February 2026 interim agreement remains unsigned. The article connects this uncertainty with wider US tariff negotiations and the disruption to Gulf oil supplies following the US-Israel campaign against Iran, which began in February 2026. Rubio’s reference to Venezuelan crude offers another possible option for India’s oil mix, but neither the trade deal nor future sourcing arrangements has been settled.

Grounding A Giant: Inside HAL’s Disqualification From The AMCA Stealth Project

Eurasia Review | Girish Linganna

India’s Ministry of Defence excluded state-owned manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from the ₹15,000 crore contract to construct prototypes for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a fifth-generation radar-evading fighter jet. Three private industry contenders—Tata Advanced Systems Limited, a Larsen & Toubro-led consortium, and a Bharat Forge-led team—will now compete to build five flying prototypes and one structural test aircraft alongside the Aeronautical Development Agency.

This unprecedented disqualification stems from a routine technical non-compliance during evaluation rather than HAL's substantial eight-times turnover order backlog. A prototype serves as the initial flying aircraft validating aerodynamic design, while a structural test airframe undergoes ground stress testing to establish physical limits. HAL failed mandatory criteria despite partnering with Vem Technologies and JK Enterprises. India seeks a dual production base. The policy explicitly aims to establish a second domestic combat aircraft manufacturing line, diversifying India's defense supply chain while allowing HAL to re-compete for future full-scale production contracts.

India Needs A Littoral Manoeuvre Warfare Concept

Eurasia Review | Siddharth Anil Nair

The Indian Armed Forces currently lack a dedicated littoral manoeuvre warfare doctrine, leaving coastal and island defences reliant on static, unidirectional sea-to-land operations. Modern conflicts in the Black Sea and Red Sea demonstrate how dispersed, land-based precision strike systems and autonomous unmanned platforms can contest maritime domains effectively.

Establishing a formal land-to-sea manoeuvre framework is essential for India to secure critical maritime chokepoints. While amphibious doctrine established in historical operations like Operation Beaver in 1971 emphasised concentrated force projection, contemporary multi-domain warfare requires distributed expeditionary sensor-shooter networks. India already possesses relevant capabilities, exemplified by its export of the BrahMos missile system to the Philippines for archipelagic defence. Current operations remain siloed. Developing a unified joint doctrine through the Integrated Defence Staff will enable emerging theatre commands to transform the Andaman and Laccadive Seas into dynamic sea-denial zones against eastern maritime adversaries.

Is It Going To Be A Rebirth Of The Quad?

Eurasia Review | Dr. Rajaram Panda

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Quad will convene a leaders' summit alongside ASEAN meetings in Manila from 16 to 18 November 2026. This initiative seeks to revive top-level engagement after India's planned 2025 summit was repeatedly delayed by bilateral friction over United States tariffs, oil sanctions, and visa restrictions.

Foreign ministers maintained the operational continuity of the grouping through four ministerial meetings, most recently issuing a joint statement in Manila in July 2026 targeting South China Sea maritime security without explicitly naming China. Quad diplomats sustain working-level collaboration. However, strategic alignment is strained by President Donald Trump's skepticism toward multilateral forums and his proposed nuclear trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin during the 18–19 November APEC summit. Consequently, Japan, Australia, and India are rapidly expanding bilateral defense and security cooperation to hedge against potential shifts in American regional commitments.

Data breach: SBI admits exposure of its customer data on the Dark Web

The Hindu | Lalatendu Mishra

State Bank of India disclosed a dark web data breach on 21 October 2026 after receiving warnings from CERT-In and the Defence Cyber Agency. Preliminary analysis of 3,75,000 leaked records revealed that 3,897 customer profiles containing personally identifiable information were compromised, including mobile numbers, residential addresses, dates of birth, and loan metadata.

Threat group Siriusim allegedly released the records alongside 2,722 PDF documents containing account applications. This breach exposes affected account holders to targeted financial impersonation scams. SBI insisted core operations remain uncompromised. The Internet Freedom Foundation criticized the five-day delay between threat notifications and regulatory disclosures to stock exchanges. Financial institutions face structural reporting gaps. Under current CERT-In 2022 guidelines and Reserve Bank of India frameworks, entities must notify regulators rather than affected individuals. Statutory provisions under Section 8(6) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 requiring direct customer notification do not take effect until 13 May 2027.

India: Western Border Vulnerabilities

Eurasia Review | Ruchika Kakkar

Security forces neutralized ten infiltration attempts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir between January and October 18, 2026. Official data reveals a sharp decline in local militant recruitment alongside a persistent threat from foreign fighters and cross-border smuggling networks. Pakistan-based groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed continue directing operations with intelligence support.

Smugglers increasingly rely on uncrewed aerial vehicles to deliver narcotics and firearms across international borders in Punjab and Rajasthan. Border security units intercepted hundreds of drone intrusions and recovered significant contraband quantities in those sectors. The Ministry of External Affairs formally protested these violations to diplomatic representatives in New Delhi. Intelligence assessments indicate that state-backed syndicates maintain these networks to sustain low-intensity instability across Indian border districts.

How photography helped physicist Bibha Chowdhuri see the invisible in the 1930s

Scroll.in | Kamayani Sharma

In 1938, Indian physicist Bibha Chowdhuri and D.M. Bose exposed samarium-soaked photographic plates at high altitudes in Sandakphu and Darjeeling to detect cosmic radiation and map subatomic nuclear disintegrations. Their experimental emulsion technique recorded 30 star-like tracks left by charged particles, establishing light-sensitive photographic plates as viable detectors of subatomic events.

She isolated cosmic particle trajectories. This methodology directly enabled scientists to differentiate heavy particles, including protons and mesotrons, based on track scattering patterns across varying elevations up to 14,500 feet at Pharijong. However, wartime supply disruptions during the Second World War severed access to specialized Ilford halftone plates from England, halting further cosmic ray experiments at the Bose Institute in Kolkata. While Nobel laureate Cecil Powell subsequently collaborated with Ilford Ltd in Bristol to refine these nuclear emulsions, Chowdhuri's pioneering research provided the essential empirical proof for photographic particle detection techniques.

Why Marco Rubio’s visit to Mumbai has ruffled feathers in India

Al Jazeera | Nils Adler

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai on Monday before inspecting the world's largest single-site oil refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The bypass of New Delhi triggered domestic political backlash after US Ambassador Sergio Gor stated Washington expected Indian ministers to travel to Mumbai, drawing opposition claims that Jaishankar was summoned on home soil.

Routing diplomatic engagement through Jamnagar, a pivotal maritime energy node on the Arabian Sea, highlights Washington's broader oil strategy. The United States is pressing Indian refiners like Reliance Industries to substitute Russian crude with Venezuelan supplies following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro in January. Diplomatic friction persists over trade tariffs, which fell from 50 percent to 18 percent in February. Energy markets dictate strategic posture. Despite recent US labour certification suspensions hitting Indian IT firms, bilateral trade expanded nearly 12 percent in 2025 to $240bn.

Oligarchs! India responds after Musk's allegations of bias in satellite service approvals

The Economic Times

The Indian government dismissed claims of regulatory bias in its satellite communication approvals after Elon Musk alleged that Starlink was being blocked by local corporate interests. The Ministry of Communications affirmed that all non-geosynchronous satellite orbit providers must undergo identical, mandatory security vetting before receiving spectrum allocations. This regulatory pushback comes as Starlink resubmits its application to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) for its Gen 2 low-Earth-orbit constellation of nearly 30,000 satellites operating between 340 and 615 kilometres.

Security assessments remain ongoing. Simultaneously, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is evaluating pricing and operational framework models for direct-to-device (D2D) capabilities, which traditional terrestrial telecom operators argue require strict regulatory parity. Strategic market competition intensifies as Starlink vies against established domestic and international rivals, including Reliance Jio, Amazon Leo, and Eutelsat OneWeb, to capture India's expanding satellite communications sector.

From Kashmir to Reels: The Localisation of Jihadist Propaganda in Indian Digital Spaces

GNET Research | Ashreet Acharya

Jihadist groups including Islamic State Khorasan Province, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed are systematically localising digital propaganda across India. Replacing traditional Urdu long-form releases, these networks deploy Hindi and regional-language short-form videos across mainstream platforms such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to maximize engagement.

This strategy aligns extremist messaging with platform recommendation algorithms and domestic socio-political grievances to engage demographic groups far beyond historical Kashmir-centric recruitment pools. A July 2026 National Investigation Agency operation across 10 states exposed a multi-stage funnel where public accounts guide recruits into encrypted Telegram and WhatsApp channels. Standard keyword moderation tools fail. Artificial intelligence translation software and decentralized volunteer media organs like the Al-Isabah and Al-Azaim Foundations rapidly regenerate deleted material in Malayalam, Tamil, and Bengali. This resilient, multi-tiered dissemination pipeline significantly complicates counterterrorism monitoring and digital enforcement strategies throughout the Indian subcontinent.

17,500 feet and counting: How army is betting on FPV drones in the Himalayas

The Times of India | Dhruv Yadav

The Indian Army has ordered 225 indigenous First-Person View (FPV) drones from Aerodrone Robotics after high-altitude field trials at 17,500 feet in Ladakh and Spiti. These tactical platforms aim to modernize logistics and reconnaissance along the Line of Actual Control with China and the Line of Control with Pakistan.

Operating at altitudes between 12,000 and 18,000 feet requires overcoming severe physical constraints, as atmospheric density drops by 40 to 50 percent at 15,000 feet, significantly degrading propeller thrust and battery endurance. Cold temperatures drop sea-level battery flight times from six minutes down to just two or three minutes. Unmanned systems provide a cheaper, faster, and safer alternative to traditional foot patrols, pack mules, and aging Cheetah helicopters. Small tactical units like Ashni platoons will employ these military-hardened systems to bypass digitized air defences and maintain isolated Himalayan outposts. Indigenous software development ensures adaptability in high-altitude environments.

India and Israel: Natural Partners or Strange Bedfellows?

National Interest | Mohammed Ayoob

India elevated its relationship with Israel to a special strategic partnership in February 2026, cementing a major geopolitical shift. This growing intimacy persisted despite the devastation in Gaza and New Delhi's historic support for Palestinian statehood. Historically, Indian leaders opposed a Jewish state, viewing Zionism through the lens of anti-colonialism and fearing it validated the ethno-religious partition that created Pakistan.

Pragmatism eventually drove a diplomatic reassessment. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party aligned ideologically with the Israeli Right, viewing military assertiveness as a model. Consequently, New Delhi became Jerusalem's largest defense customer, accounting for 29 percent of Israeli major arms exports between 2021 and 2025. This defense cooperation includes acquiring Heron drones, Phalcon systems, and SPICE weapons, alongside joint development of the MRSAM air-defense system by the DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries. Bilateral cooperation has now expanded into cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors, establishing deep institutional links that transcend individual governments.

The Scam Industry Is Becoming a Big Problem in India

The Diplomat | Saqlain Rizve

Indian investigators from the Enforcement Directorate on September 15 raided three illicit call centers in Pune and Patiala, disrupting a major transnational cyber-fraud syndicate targeting United States citizens. The coordinated law enforcement operation led to the seizure of dozens of digital devices and exposed sophisticated calling scripts used to systematically defraud foreign victims.

This enforcement action addresses the growing systemic challenge of cyber-enabled financial crime operating from Indian soil. During the raids, authorities found approximately 220 employees actively engaged in fraudulent operations. The illicit network spanned multiple states. Officers also searched a connected property in Chandigarh linked to a suspected organizer, confiscating 66 mobile phones, 13 laptops, and critical operational records. The agency is currently analyzing internet telephony systems and payment routes to trace the illicit financial flows. These measures aim to protect bilateral relations and restore international confidence in India's digital service economy.

The Act Of Omitting ‘Indo’: Why Washington’s Pacific Rebranding Matters?

Eurasia Review | B.G. Surat Kiranmai, Manasi Sinha

The United States military's decision on June 16, 2026, to restore the name U.S. Pacific Command, reverting from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, alters the symbolic hierarchy of maritime security. This bureaucratic shift risks marginalising the Indian Ocean within Washington's strategic vocabulary despite intact operational boundaries stretching to India's western frontier.

For New Delhi, the previous 'Indo-Pacific' designation validated its role as a critical maritime partner, particularly given that ports handle 95 percent of India's trade volume. The region remains highly interconnected, with 43 percent of global maritime oil shipments passing through the South China Sea in 2023. Bilateral defence trade exceeded $20 billion by 2020, and the Quad continues to expand initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness. However, the symbolic omission of 'Indo' signals a potential narrative retreat. India cannot outsource its cartography. Consequently, the authors argue the nation must strengthen its own assets, including the Gurugram-based Information Fusion Centre and the Andaman and Nicobar bases.

Pakistan Army: Disappearing The Living And Raising The Dead

Eurasia Review | Nilesh Kunwar

The Pakistan Army's media wing, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), faces intense scrutiny over contradictory public narratives regarding military clashes and counter-terrorism operations. During the February 27, 2019 aerial combat with India, ISPR's shifting claims about captured pilots indirectly confirmed that a Pakistani fighter jet was downed.

This communication pattern reflects a broader institutional tendency to manipulate information to manage domestic and international perceptions. Similar discrepancies emerged when ISPR denied the existence of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, contradicting earlier admissions by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Recently, ISPR presented a man claiming to be Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Mohammad Asif, alias Hashim Musa, to refute Indian claims of his death. This move failed. The author suggests this defensive public relations effort was timed to influence the upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting, highlighting Rawalpindi's anxiety over international scrutiny of its counter-terrorism record and state-sponsored militancy.

India's nuclear power: 190 warheads, long-range missiles and deep-strike capability, report reveals chilling data for PAK

MSN

India has expanded its nuclear arsenal to an estimated 190 warheads while actively modernising its land, air, and sea-based delivery platforms to maintain a credible deterrent. This strategic expansion, detailed in a new Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists report, secures New Delhi's deep-strike capabilities against regional adversaries, particularly Pakistan and China.

Although New Delhi maintains a strict No First Use policy, the country continues to preserve significant operational opacity regarding the exact ranges and deployment patterns of its strategic triad. Air-based nuclear delivery currently relies on upgraded French Mirage 2000 and British-French Jaguar strike aircraft, which are capable of dropping weapons deep into enemy territory. Rafale fighters will eventually replace the aging Jaguars. These modernization efforts ensure a balanced retaliatory capability, contrasting with the stealth-reliant postures of the United States and China, as the nation secures its long-term strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region.

Four Rivers Six Ranges: An untold story of Tibetan resistance

Small Wars Journal

Tibetan filmmaker Shenpenn Khymsar’s 2025 documentary Four Rivers Six Ranges chronicles the historic 1958 Chushi Gangdruk resistance movement against the Chinese Communist Party's occupation. The film highlights the existential struggle to preserve Tibet's spiritual identity and protect the Dalai Lama. This cinematic release spotlights Beijing's ongoing strategy of using large-scale infrastructure projects to consolidate control over contested territories.

By altering physical landscapes, the occupying power integrates these regions into its central economic and security architecture, a method detailed in studies on the PRC's way of occupation. It erodes local traditions. Based on Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang’s memoir Flight at the Cuckoo’s Behest, the narrative explores the deep tension between Buddhist pacifism and the necessity of armed resistance. Ultimately, the project underscores how top-down administrative pressure and social exploitation face persistent friction from deeply rooted national belonging, highlighting the human realm as the primary terrain of conflict as India and China attempt to repair bilateral ties.

India Achieves First 5.56-Km Free-Space QKD Link In Major Quantum-Secure Communication Trial

Swarajya

India demonstrated its first 5.56-kilometre free-space quantum key distribution link on 3 October 2026, establishing a secure atmospheric communication channel without relying on fibre-optic infrastructure. Conducted by QNu Labs, BISAG-N, and IIT Gandhinagar, the trial achieved a stable quantum bit error rate below 5 per cent and generated secure keys at 230–260 bps.

This atmospheric milestone bypasses the physical vulnerability of terrestrial fibre networks. The system resists interception. The trial integrated QNu Labs' Armos hardware-based device with BISAG-N's Vedic Kavach post-quantum cryptography software, enabling successful end-to-end encryption and decryption of test messages. This dual-layer architecture ensures communication resilience even during physical channel disruptions. The breakthrough builds on an earlier demonstration of a one-kilometre link achieved by DRDO and IIT Delhi in June 2025. By scaling free-space quantum key distribution, India advances its strategic capabilities in intercept-proof military and governmental communications, paving the way for satellite-based quantum networks.