In a town-hall type address to citizens in August 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India's foreign policy was all about ‘India First’. Though this can be inferred in myriad ways, the statement underlined two well-known assumptions about Indian foreign policy. First, as noted in the first such study by J. Bandyopadhyaya, Prime Ministers play a critical role in steering the direction of Indian foreign policy. This has been evident in the articulation of doctrines around the persona and political temperament of different Prime Ministers. If foreign policy ‘emerged whole from the head and heart’ of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi overshadowed, if not stepped upon, the bureaucracy in charting India's relationship with the world. More recently, terms such as Rao Doctrine, Gujral Doctrine, Manmohan Doctrine, and Modi Doctrine typify the diplomatic style and policy substance of different Indian Prime Ministers. Second, external affairs are a policy domain wherein both the Indian public and policymakers seek – and believe there exists – consensus. Even during periods of extreme political polarisation, few would disagree that India should indeed focus on ‘India First’ when it comes to international politics. For it underlines the basic tenet of political realism in an anarchic world. It can be argued that Nehru's Non-Alignment, Narasimha Rao's pragmatism and Modi's assertiveness are all manifestations of this deep realist foundation of India's foreign policy outlook.

Most existing scholarly analyses of India's foreign policy revolves around these two broad facets. Be it debates around the role of institution or about the drivers of India's foreign policy, the issue is assessed by focusing on what policy output looks like rather than how it is formulated. Both India's position in the world and its shifting policy pronouncements in the context of a constantly evolving world order are aspects that have been well researched, and shall continue to elicit vibrant debate and discussion. Similar to works on other rising powers, studies on India's foreign policy address a diverse set of questions. What are the ideological underpinnings of Indian foreign policy? Does India offer a vision to the world? What is the state of India's relationships with major global powers? Why does India continue to have problems in emerging as a ‘benign’ regional power in South Asia?