Foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government Kathmandu. Foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government The foreign policy of the Modi government (also referred to as the Modi Doctrine) concerns the policy initiatives made towards other states by the current Modi government after he assumed office as Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. The Ministry of External Affairs, headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (the first woman to hold the office since Indira Gandhi), is responsible for carrying out the foreign policy of India. Modi's foreign policy is currently focused on improving relations with neighbouring countries in South Asia, engaging the extended neighbourhood in
Narendra Modi 2000 crore for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. Modi initially appointed Harsh Vardhan, a doctor and an advocate of tobacco control, as minister of health. However, Vardhan was replaced in November 2014 by Jagat Prakash Nadda. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal "Lancet" stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. A new National Health Policy was approved in 2017.