Everything All At Once

A sense of uncertainty has clearly gripped the world as six transformative global transitions—ranging from geopolitical and geographical to geoeconomic and technological—unfold all at once. Policymakers are scrambling to make sense of these transitions even as people lurch to extremes in these times of insecurity laced with rising inequity. To make matters more complicated, today’s certitudes can evaporate by tomorrow—for countries, companies and citizens alike. ‘Chaos, contestation, and constant recalibration’ will, therefore, be with us for a while yet.

Where does that leave over 800 million young Indians with their burgeoning aspirations? In Everything All At Once: India and the Six Simultaneous Global Transitions, Rajiv Kumar and Ishan Joshi suggest how India’s national goals could be defined and lay out the difficult but inescapable steps which will be required to achieve them. New Delhi has a historic opportunity to shape the ongoing transitions to its advantage. But the challenges are massive. Business-as-usual just won’t do if we want to see India as Viksit Bharat in the next 25 years.

An innovative and flexible policy framework has to be the sine qua non going forward. Forging a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ to deal with the six simultaneous transitions facing the Global South is critical. Its components would include—but not be limited to—urgently tackling the looming climate catastrophe; adapting frontier technologies including AI to our advantage; and ensuring our strategic autonomy to deal with the passing of Pax Americana and the inexorable Rise of China.

Everything All At Once: India and the Six Simultaneous Global Transitions is essential reading for anyone drawn to the future that’s quietly stepping into the present.

A highly regarded economist, Rajiv Kumar served as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog— the Government of India’s premier policy think tank—from 2017 to 2022. He has held senior positions at FICCI, ICRIER, CII, and the Asian Development Bank. Dr Kumar holds a PhD in economics from Lucknow University and a DPhil from Oxford University. He has authored several books and papers on macroeconomics, trade, industry and strategic foreign policy. In 2023, Dr Kumar was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by the Government of Japan for strengthening India- Japan economic ties.

Ishan’s research interests include geostrategy, communication and media policy, and foreign affairs. His work has been published in academic journals and conferences, and he contributes regular op-eds to prominent media platforms. He has been a faculty member of the School of Communication, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. As a journalist, Ishan has held leadership positions in quality broadsheets. Educated in India and the UK, he is a recipient of the Chevening Fellowship for Young Journalists as well as the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholarship for Postgraduate Studies.