Welcome to the Indian Century

The next global leader is waiting in the wings — and no, I don’t mean China. India is the major power with the fastest-growing economy and the world’s largest population, and on the heels of trade deals with the United States and the European Union, it’s poised to become even more influential. I wanted to speak with Amitav Acharya, a prominent international relations scholar, about whether a new Indian century is about to be born. 01:49 - India vs. China: The race to development 05:26 - “The mother of all trade deals” 11:02 - India's “multi-aligned” foreign policy 17:46 - What is India’s grand strategy? 24:08 - The diaspora’s cultural and civilizational influence 41:50 - India in 2060 (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please

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Welcome to the Indian Century is an episode from The Argument by New York Times Opinion.

This episode is 00:45:04 long.

This episode was published on Feb 19, 2026.

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