CDS Gen Anil Chauhan launches ORF's Foreign Policy Survey 2024, highlights rising youth concern over China challenge
The event marked the release of the fourth edition of this flagship survey, which captures the evolving perceptions of India's urban youth on the country's foreign policy priorities in an increasingly dynamic global environment, as per the ORF statement.
Titled 'Foreign Policy Survey 2024: Young India and the China Challenge,' the survey was developed in collaboration with Impetus Research and conducted between July and September 2024.
According to ORF, with responses from 5,050 urban youth across the country, the study offers a comprehensive insight into how India's young population views its diplomatic relationships, global partnerships, and strategic challenges.
The data, collected before President Trump's return to office and the events of Operation Sindoor, shows growing confidence in India's foreign policy, with 88 per cent of respondents expressing support--a steady rise from previous years.
The survey also reveals increasing public concern over India's relationship with China. Sixty-six per cent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with current bilateral ties, a significant 17-point rise from 2023, ORF stated.
A vast majority, 89 per cent, identified the India-China border conflict as the country's most pressing foreign policy issue, followed closely by concerns over cross-border terrorism and India's tensions with Pakistan. Issues such as cybersecurity, climate change, and supply chain disruptions also featured prominently in the minds of young Indians.
Delivering the inaugural address, ORF President Samir Saran underlined the importance of the survey in capturing and amplifying youth voices in foreign policymaking.
He noted that the survey offers a rounded view of India's shifting geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape as seen through the eyes of its emerging generation, and serves as a tool to make policymaking more inclusive and participatory.
In his special address, General Chauhan elaborated on India's vision to become a Vishwabandhu, a trusted global partner that remains rooted in strategic autonomy. He emphasised India's role as a balancer in global affairs, actively engaging with both BRICS and the Quad.
He also drew attention to the shifting dynamics in India's immediate neighbourhood, particularly the growing China-Pakistan-Bangladesh engagements, developments in Myanmar, and the increasing presence of external actors in the Indian Ocean region, all of which pose complex challenges to India's national security.
Since its first edition in 2021, launched amidst the global disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, ORF's Foreign Policy Survey has evolved into a unique barometer of public sentiment on international affairs.
The 2022 and 2023 editions focused respectively on 75 years of India's independence and the challenges of multilateralism. The 2024 survey builds on this legacy, offering timely and critical insights into how India's youth perceive one of the most consequential strategic rivalries of our time: the India-China relationship. (ANI)
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