What Policy Changes Are Expected Under President Biden?
After one of the most hostile transfers of power ever witnessed in USA, Joseph Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the country.
The pandemic meant that the usual crowd of citizens at the inauguration was rather restricted this year. The swearing in ceremony of Biden and Kamala Harris took place before a thinly-populated masked gathering of Senators, Congressmen and former Presidents.
But the stunning visuals of the field of flags at the National Mall to represent American citizens, the heartfelt performances by JLo, Lady Gaga, Amanda Gorman and Katy Perry more than made up for this modest ceremony that took place just two weeks after US Capitol's disconcerting siege by pro-Trump insurrectionists.
And all eyes were on Biden as he took oath, with the message of Democracy's victory. Evoking Abraham Lincolns's words – “My whole soul is in this”– he vowed to bring all America together.But as difficult as it was for Biden to take office with Trump trying every trick to forestall his inauguration, the path ahead of him is going to be equally daunting if not more, as he inherits a nation ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, deep political hostility and racial inequality.
While the Biden admin wasted no time after the inauguration and went onto signing a flurry of executive orders to reverse some of Trump's decisions, including one to re-enter the Paris Climate Accord, what will the first 100 days of the Biden government look like?
What kind of reconfiguration of policies are we likely to see in the US? Is Biden likely to take the United States to the Obama era? Or will he carve out his own niche? Tune in we to The Big Story where we speak to Akshobh Girdhardas, a journalist based in Washington DC who writes on geopolitics, business, tech and sports.
Producer and Host: Shorbori Purkayastha
Guests: Akshobh Girdhardas, Washington DC-based who writes on geopolitics, business, tech and sports
What to Expect from QUAD as PM Narendra Modi Visits the US
From being the first speaker at the 76th United Nations (UN) General Assembly to holding meetings with CEOs of big companies, and scheduled bilateral discussions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day US visit is jam-packed.
However, this visit also comes in the backdrop of an array of geopolitical developments – from the fallout in Afghanistan to the recent strategic alignments between the US and Australia and uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pertinent to this visit will be the first in-person leaders' meeting of the Quad – an alliance between India, US, Australia, and Japan – on 24 September.
The group, which has only met sporadically since it was formed in 2007, is officially committed to a shared vision “for an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, resilient and inclusive” by strengthening its relations on supply chain, communications, technology and climate chance projects.
However, its recent revival in 2017 and again in 2021 is seen to be largely due to the growing assertion of China in the Indo-Pacific region and all four countries have their respective motivations to dilute China’s military presence in the region.
And now, given the geopolitical flux in the region with the fallout in Afghanistan and India’s sour relations with China post Galwan Valley clashes, what is expected out of the Quad summit? And what role can India play in it?
To analyse all this, for today's episode we spoke to security analysts Akshobh Giridharadas and Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.