The Republic of India is considered one of the emerging superpowers of the world.
This potential is attributed to several indicators, the primary ones being its demographic trends and a rapidly expanding economy and by GDP India became world's fastest growing economy in 2018 with 8.4% GDP rate(mid year terms).
The country must overcome many economic, social, and political problems before it can be considered a superpower.
It is also not yet as influential on the international stage when compared to many nations.
FORIEGN EXCHANGE RESERVES INDIA
(Source : World Bank)
This potential is attributed to several indicators, the primary ones being its demographic trends and a rapidly expanding economy and by GDP India became world's fastest growing economy in 2018 with 8.4% GDP rate(mid year terms).
The country must overcome many economic, social, and political problems before it can be considered a superpower.
It is also not yet as influential on the international stage when compared to many nations.
INDIAN GROWTH INDICATORS ARE VERY PROMISING
GROWTH IN WORLDS LARGEST ECONOMIES
(SOURCE : focus-economics.com)
GDP PER CAPITA - INDIA (IN USD)
SOURCE : WORLD BANK
ADULT LITERACY - INDIA
CHILD MORTALITY - INDIA
(SOURCE : WORLD BANK)
POVERTY REDUCTION INDIA
FORIEGN EXCHANGE RESERVES INDIA
(Source : World Bank)
FACTORS IN FAVOR OF INDIA BECOMING A SUPERPOWER
- ENERGY : In the future, the world is expected to exit the "fossil fuel age", and perhaps the "nuclear energy age", and enter the "renewable-energy age" or even further into the "fusion power age", if and whenever these technologies become economically sustainable. Being a region in the sunny tropical belt, the Indian subcontinent could greatly benefit from a renewable energy trend, as it has the ideal combination of both - high solar insolation and a big consumer base density.
- HIGH AND YOUNG POPULATION : World's second largest population 50% of which is below 24.
- GLOBAL DIASPORA : 35 Million Indians live across the globe.
- FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS : 150 Million to 250 Million Indians speak English.
- DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANISM : World's largest democracy - more than three times larger than the next - United States.
- SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY : 3rd nation to found a National Space Agency called ISRO, after the USSR and the U.S. It was the third Asian nation to send satellites into space after China and Japan in 1970, starting with Aryabhata in 1975. In January 2007, India became the fourth nation to complete atmospheric reentry In October 2008, India launched its first unmanned lunar probe, Chandrayaan 1, which operated until August 2009. On 14 November 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter at 20:06 and was deliberately made to strike the Moon near the south pole, making India the fourth country to reach the Moon's surface. Among its many achievements was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in lunar soil. On 24 September 2014 India became the fourth nation to have a satellite orbiting Mars. India is the first Asian nation to achieve this and the first to do so in its first try.
- TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY SECTOR : India currently has an expanding IT industry which is considered one of the best in the world. Some have begun to describe India as a technology superpower. It is considered the World's Office and is leading in the Services Industry. This is mainly due to the availability of a large pool of highly skilled, low cost, English speaking workforce.
- UNITY IN DIVERSITY : India has a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious society living together. The subcontinent's long and diverse history has given it a unique eclectic culture. It is often associated with spirituality. Thanks to its history of both indigenous and foreign influences - like the ancient Indian religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism) and the ancient Middle East Asian schools of thought (Abrahamic - Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc.) - the current Indian civilizational psyche is evolving into a complex mix of them - sometimes a superposition of religious philosophies with acceptance of the conflicting cosmologies, sometimes striking a middle ground, and sometimes taking the practical attitude - popular with the young - of "filtering the common best, and leaving the rest", thus leading to the creation of many syncretic mix of faiths.
URBAN POPULATION - GROWTH - INDIA
(SOURCE : WORLD BANK)
URBAN POPULATION LIVING IN SLUMS - INDIA
(SOURCE : WORLD BANK)
CHALLENGES THAT INDIA FACES IN BECOMING A SUPERPOWER
COST OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANISM : Democratic republicanism has its value, more so in a multi-ethnic country like India.[147]However, the applicability of the "theoretical" virtues of republicanism on a country like India is sometimes questioned. Some thinkers consider India's diverse democracy to levy a huge tax on its economy.
INDIAN POLITICIANS NEED TO MANAGE POPULISM AND GROWTH
(Source : Nomura)
INSURGENCY : India has had significant successes with quelling many insurgencies, most prominently the Punjab insurgency (Khalistan) and the surrender of large sections of insurgent outfits like the United Liberation Front of Asom in 1992 and National Liberation Front of Tripura in 2000-2001. However KashmIr remains a problem.
POVERTY : As of 2011, approximately 21.9% of India's population lived below poverty line. Poverty also begets child labour. Various reforms, including mass employment schemes have been undertaken by the government to tackle this problem, and India has been quite successful in reducing its share of poverty. Reduction of poverty remains one of the biggest challenges that India faces.
INFRASTRUCTURE : Basic infrastructure in India such as roads, power grid, water, communications infrastructure, housing and education are often below standards, and not catching up with the tune of its economic progress. Continued poor infrastructure might serve as a bottleneck to further economic development.
ENERGY DEPENDENCE AND COSTS : India heavily depends on foreign oil - a phenomenon likely to continue until non-fossil/renewable energy technology becomes economically viable in the country. To avert an energy crisis, India is desperately seeking alternate means of energy.
UNEMPLOYMENT : Unless India finds a quick way to generate jobs, its population of unemployed youths could be a reason for instability. India's growth in the services sector and Information Technology sector has not been matched by growth in manufacturing which can provide more jobs. Some claim that this sector may lose importance in the future.
HEALTH : India's health scenario is dismal with diseases and malnutrition constantly affecting the poorest quarter of the populace. Mortality is still relatively high and the bane of AIDS is spreading quickly. It is estimated that India's economic growth will decline by 0.86 percentage annually if the AIDS problem is not properly dealt with.
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS : The majority of India lies in the tropical climate zone, which may have a negative impact on its agricultural and overall economic development. Tropical zones are more prone to endemic water-borne and parasitic diseases such as cholera and malaria. As a result of climate change, the Gangotri Glacier, among others, is receding. Also, of the 3 million premature deaths in the world that occur each year due to outdoor and indoor air pollution, the highest number are assessed to occur in India.
SOCIAL DIVIDE AND RESERVATIONS : The problem of India's social divide is often linked to its centuries-old caste system. In an attempt to eliminate the caste system, the Indian government has introduced special quotas for low-caste Indians in educational institutions and job. However, the system is often criticised about its effectiveness as so called creamy layer (rich among the lower caste) get non-needed advantage & leave other lower caste groups poor only. There also have been cases of reverse-discrimination and persecution of upper castes by lower castes.
(SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA, WORLD BANK REPORTS, NOMURA, CENSUS OF INDIA )
