In the third Anahita Speaker Series session of 2020, Punita Lal shared glimpses of her personal journey in the corporate world, and drew on her decades long experience to analyse how consumer behavior will change in the aftermath of the pandemic. The discussion was moderated by Rhea Menon.

What can we expect from consumers after the COVID-19 pandemic?

In South Asia, the coronavirus pandemic is at once a public health crisis, an economic crisis, and a humanitarian crisis.

India has shed its past practice of focusing solely on engagement at the bilateral level and developed a new coherent approach toward Central Asia.

With contributors from various Central Asian nations and beyond, this issue of Seminar provides a selection of perspectives about the past, present, and future trajectory of Central Asia, and the growing role of external actors, particularly India, China, Russia, and the EU in this evolving and dynamic space.

The rise of China as an economic powerhouse in Asia, along with rapid globalization, has brought Central Asia back in the limelight as a bridge connecting the established markets of the West with the emerging markets of the East.

As India looks beyond its borders, Central Asia provides India with the right platform to leverage its political, economic, and cultural connections to play a leading role in Eurasia.

Carnegie India, in partnership with the Vedica Scholars Programme for Women, hosted the inaugural talk of the Anahita Speaker Series on “The Architecture of Diplomacy.”

The establishment of a Kra Canal in Thailand may soon become a reality as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The canal would permit ships to bypass the Malacca Strait, a crucial maritime chokepoint, amplifying the strategic significance of the project.