India & Singapore: Boosting Ties from Healthcare to Tech

General Studies Paper-2

Context

• Recently, India and Singapore, at the third edition of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), have reaffirmed their strategic partnership with a renewed focus on collaboration across critical sectors including healthcare, digitalisation, advanced technology, and connectivity.

India & Singapore Relations: Historical Background

• India and Singapore have shared cultural and commercial ties for over a millennium, with maritime trade routes connecting the two regions.
• Singapore was governed from Kolkata until 1867 under British rule, leaving a legacy of shared institutions, legal systems, and the widespread use of English.
• India was among the first countries to recognize Singapore’s independence in 1965.

Present-Day Cooperation

• Strategic Partnership: India & Singapore elevated their ties to a Strategic Partnership during the India’s Prime Minister visit to Singapore in 2015.
• It was further upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2023.
• Economic and Trade: As per the Ministry of Commerce, India’s Exports to Singapore was $14.4 billion, and India’s Imports from Singapore was $21.2 billion in 2023–24. Singapore is India’s largest trading partner in ASEAN and a top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Key agreements include:
• Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) – signed in 2005, reviewed in 2018.
• Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA);
• FinTech Cooperation Agreement;
• Digital and Financial Connectivity: In 2023, India’s UPI was linked with Singapore’s PayNow, enabling seamless cross-border digital payments.
  • Singaporean firms are investing in India’s digital infrastructure and smart cities.
• Defence and Security: Joint military exercises and training programs are held regularly.
  • Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 2003, enhanced in 2015.
• Geopolitical Significance: Singapore is central to India’s Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision.
  • Both nations are active members of forums like G20, East Asia Summit, and IORA.
• Ministerial Roundtable Mechanism (ISMR): It is a high-level dialogue platform, launched in 2022. It covers six strategic pillars like advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare & medicine, skills development, and sustainability.
  • Its inaugural meeting was held in New Delhi in 2022 the 2nd meeting was held in Singapore in August 2024, and third edition was held in New Delhi in 2025.

Key Concerns & Challenges

• Investment Bottlenecks: Despite Singapore being India’s largest FDI source, investment levels dropped by over 30% in the past year.
  • Singaporean businesses cite regulatory complexity, bureaucratic delays, and unpredictable policy shifts as barriers to investing in India.
• Missed Trade Opportunities: India’s withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was seen by Singapore as a ‘missed opportunity’ for deeper ASEAN integration.
  • Although India cited strategic concerns over China’s influence, the move created a gap in regional trade alignment.
• Infrastructure and Connectivity: Ambitious proposals like the undersea solar energy and data cable between India and Singapore face technical and regulatory hurdles.
  • Building trusted data corridors and energy pipelines requires alignment on cybersecurity, environmental standards, and cross-border protocols.
• Talent and Skilling Gaps: Singapore has expressed interest in India’s demographic dividend, but matching skills with industry needs remains a challenge.
  • Joint skilling initiatives are underway, but scaling them to meet demand in sectors like semiconductors and AI is still a work in progress.

Path Forward

• As India rises on the global stage and Singapore continues to lead in innovation and finance, their partnership is poised for even greater expansion.
• The India–Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) provides a high-level mechanism to address concerns and chart new areas of collaboration.