Events in India’s neighborhood have been altering geopolitical relationships with increasing regularity. Thus, while the US executed its ‘pivot’ to Asia to balance China’s aggressive posture in South East Asia, the launch of the One Belt One Road initiative by the latter has taken power competition to a new level. America’s new policies are still in a state of flux due the ‘America First’ declaration by the US administration. While strengthening Indo-US ties, New Delhi has re emphasised its long standing relationship with Russia even as it accelerates its ‘Make in India’ initiative with the aim of stimulating growth and generating employment. An unstated agenda of the ‘Make in India’ policy is born of the hope that it would, in the process, galvanise Indian entrepreneurship to innovate and generate in-house design and reduce dependence on foreign entities; this is especially true in defence R&D and manufacturing to retain strategic autonomy.