Veiled jibe at the US? Jaishankar says politics now ‘trumps’ economics; urges India to diversify supply chains for security

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the world has entered an era where “politics increasingly trumps economics” and stressed that India must continuously diversify supply sources to safeguard national interests. The minister was speaking after receiving an Honorary Doctorate from IIM-Calcutta, reported PTI.“This is an era where politics increasingly trumps economics… and that is not a pun,” he said, adding that in an “uncertain world”, India must guarantee its needs by widening supply networks. He noted that the United States, “long the underwriter of the contemporary system”, has now set “radically new terms of engagement” by dealing with countries individually. He said China has “long played by its own rules” and continues to do so.Jaishankar highlighted that India and the US are currently engaged in two parallel negotiations — one on a framework trade deal focused on tariffs and another on a comprehensive agreement. His remarks come at a time when Indian exports to the US have seen a sharp 28.5 per cent decline between May and October 2025 due to aggressive tariff hikes, which pushed duties as high as 50 per cent by late August, as per a GTRI report.He said the global landscape is marked by fragmentation, supply insecurity and competing geopolitical pulls, with nations hedging against uncertainties.Jaishankar added that a third of global production “currently takes place in China”, putting the spotlight on supply-chain reliability. Conflicts and climate events have increased the risk of disruption.The minister asserted that India has been actively pursuing self-reliance and developing itself as a manufacturing base. He said the gap with successful Asian economies is narrowing with rapid progress in highways, railways, aviation, ports, energy and power. “We are now moving ahead, by any standards,” he said.Jaishankar emphasised that a major power like India must possess a strong industrial base, noting that ‘Make in India’ reflects a “different mindset and greater ambition”. He said industries must build domestic supply chains even as India seeks a stronger role in global ones.IIM-Calcutta, in its statement, said Jaishankar also reflected on the transformative impact of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, and underscored the need to strengthen domestic capabilities and reduce vulnerabilities.He reiterated that India’s foreign policy aims to expand the country’s global footprint as it works toward becoming a developed nation by 2047.