The COVID-19 pandemic became as a real test for India, hitting the economy and social sphere of the country and changing the way of life of the population. The post-pandemic era has brought a gradual recovery of economic development and business activity in India. The period of crisis has become a time of new opportunities, primarily in the political sphere. In domestic politics, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party tried to seize the moment to consolidate its power. The political race was not interrupted even during the acute phases of the spread of diseases, which coincided in time with the holding of elections at the regional level. In foreign policy, New Delhi has used the pandemic to strengthen its position in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region. The implementation of «vaccine diplomacy» allowed India to show itself as a responsible member of the international community and put forward its own initiatives to overcome the crisis of the global governance system. This article analyzes the transformation of India’s foreign policy caused by the new crisis circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author proposes a periodization of the pandemic in India and draws conclusions about the changes that have taken place in the political life of the country and its external policy approaches.
India; pandemic; foreign policy; BJP; South Asia; China; U.S.