Despite structural adjustments and changes made in its traditional foreign policy since the end of the Cold War, India is still far from fulfilling its long cherished dream of “great power” status in the contemporary international system. This is because of an unclear foreign policy framework and the absence of a sound and effective strategy—a method for utilising cultural, economic, military, political, scientific-technological and social developments as inputs of power for advancing and pursuing national interests. This paper briefly examines the origin and evolution of India's foreign policy and dwells on the new context of the post-Cold War international order and several other challenges in the present world.
