On 3rd August 2022, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) jointly organised a discussion on “BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity”. The speakers were from India and Nepal. The discussion session was chaired by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF and the speakers were Dr Sreeradha Datta, Head of Neighbourhood Studies Center, VIF, Dr. Pritam Banerjee, Logistics Sector Specialist Consultant, Asian Development Bank, Dr Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director, NIICE, Mihir Bhonsale, Policy Analyst and Prof.

Disregarding the historical facts & evidences, and primarily the ongoing bilateral talks relating to Kalapani issue, K.P. Sharma Oli led Nepal government released a new emblem of Nepal after second amendment of the Constitution of Nepal on 13 June 2020. Earlier, on 20 May 2020, on recommendation of the Council of Ministers of Nepal, the lower house of Nepal’s Parliament approved a new map of Nepal which showed Kalapani and Lipulekh as part of Nepalese territories. These territories have been claimed by India as its own.

The existing literature on Indian foreign policy making process has largely focussed on the formal bureaucratic structures that are responsible for policy making. The contribution of non-state actors to policy making in India hasn’t attracted much attention from scholars working on Indian foreign policy. As decision making in the arena of foreign policy and security has followed a top-down approach in India, a detailed examination of the role of think tanks in influencing the policymaking process hasn’t been undertaken so far.

On the 13th of June, 2022, The Vivekananda International Foundation organised a round table discussion on 'India's Economic Engagement within its Neighbourhood'. The session began with Dr Arvind Gupta's brief remarks on the nature and extent of India's economic relations with its neighbours. This was followed by a series of comments by Ambassador Ashok K Kantha, Ambassador Ranjit Rae, Ambassador Pinak Chakravarty, Mr Pratim Ranjan Bose, Mr Anil Manocha and Mr MJ Sheikh.