Authors: 1. Nandana Gireesh, University of Kerala 2. Devangi Sandhu, Amity University, Noida 3. Kirtika Verma, Amity University, Noida 4. Ishayu Mukherjee, The Heritage School Abstract Strait of Hormuz continues to be one of the key strategic maritime chokepoints worldwide, ensuring the passage of more than 20% of global oil supplies. With China being the largest crude oil importer, stability within the Strait is critical to securing both economic growth and security interests. The period from 2018 to 2025 has seen several developments that exposed vulnerabilities of global energy supply chains, including tanker attacks in the Gulf, US sanctions on Iran, increasing regional tensions, and disruptions of international energy trade due to the coronavirus pandemic. Increasingly complex security landscape in the Gulf illustrates the connection between strategic competition, interdependence, and vulnerability in energy supply. Within the scope of Geopolitical Security Theory and Complex Interdependence Theory, the impact of increased insecurity in the region on China’s growing energy security needs in relation to Gulf countries will be analysed. Despite growing economic partnerships and investment projects in the region, including the Belt and Road Initiative, geopolitical challenges still pose risks to energy supply safety. Consequently, the Strait of Hormuz remains both a critical energy lifeline and a strategic vulnerability within China’s broader energy security framework. Keywords: Energy security, Strait of Hormuz, China–Iran relations, Iran sanctions, Maritime chokepoint, Complex interdependence, Tanker warfare, Gulf geopolitics, Belt and Road Initiative, Post-COVID instability, Renewable energy transition

Author : Laksh Asija Abstract This study conducts a comparative analysis of government-led and market-led FinTech models and their respective impacts on financial inclusion, using India and Kenya as contrasting case studies. India’s government-led model, anchored by the JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile) and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), is compared against Kenya’s market-led model, exemplified by Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money platform. Drawing on secondary data from the World Bank Global Findex Database, the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank of Kenya, and existing academic literature, this study employs a qualitative comparative case study methodology to evaluate both models across five analytical dimensions: access, usage, cost, depth, and sustainability. Findings reveal that government-led models demonstrate superior capacity for broad-based, equitable access at zero cost, while market-led models show advantages in product depth and rural usage penetration. The study concludes that hybrid models combining public infrastructure with private competition offer the most promising pathway to comprehensive financial inclusion in developing economies.

Author: Priyanshu Keshri Abstract This paper examines the causal architecture of the ongoing West Asia conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and its cascading effects on global energy markets and India’s energy security. India’s structural dependence on imported hydrocarbons—crude oil import dependency reaching nearly 89 percent in FY 2023–24 – renders it acutely vulnerable to disruptions along the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint through which substantial share of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade transits. The paper argues that the crisis, and the resulting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply shock in India, is not the product of unintended confrontation but of calculated escalation rooted in four interlocking causes: contested perceptions of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the collapse of diplomatic mechanisms such as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), militarization dynamics exemplified by the Twelve-Day War, and the broader theoretical relationship between petrostates and militarized interstate disputes. The analysis situates India’s energy predicament within a condition of “dual energy dependency,” in which continued reliance on fossil fuels coexists with an expanding renewable energy transition. Keywords: Strait of Hormuz, Iran nuclear program, energy security, petrostates, India LPG crisis, JCPOA, geopolitical escalation

Authors: Shohrah Kadwani, Swati Dahiya, Shivangi Bhupendra, Krishnapriya KS, Archit Bhattacharya, and Ayeni Sarah Biola Abstract The rapid expansion of digital health technologies through wearable devices, health applications, and AI-driven technologies has created a shift in how traditional patient health data is being handled. As health data increasingly shifts from traditional healthcare institutions to consumer-facing digital platforms, it creates regulatory challenges that existing legal frameworks were not designed to address. This paper examines how effectively the United Kingdom and European Union protect digital health data privacy in this evolving environment. This paper uses a qualitative and comparative approach to analyse the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the European Health Data Space (EHDS). Research was conducted into legislation, academic literature and case studies, and the paper is divided into three interconnected themes: wearable technologies, public trust and consent. The findings draw on the concept of regulatory lag, and suggest that despite comprehensive legal frameworks, both jurisdictions face a common structural problem: technological innovation seems to be advancing faster than policy can respond. Wearable technologies blur the distinction between lifestyle and health data to exploit the gaps in existing regulatory frameworks, and current consent mechanisms often fail to provide meaningful user control over data. This paper argues that both the UK and EU have largely adopted a reactive, rather than a proactive approach to digital health governance and emphasises a need to incorporate stronger consent mechanisms, oversight of wearable technologies and clearer accountability structures to adapt to an increasingly digital healthcare environment.