Can India Become a Superpower?

A developed India by 2020, or even earlier, is not a dream. It need not be a mere
vision in the minds of many Indians. It is a mission we can all take up and
succeed.
...A.P.J Abdul Kalam
India is a developing country and the pace at which it is making progress is very
fast indeed. If this rapid progress is maintained, the state of affairs in 2020 A.D.
would be very impressive. In 2020 A.D. India will present a picture of tremendous
progress and prosperity. It is a fact that without our five year plans we could not
turn out poverty, hunger, diseases and illiteracy from our country. It is also a fact
that our past was glorious and our present Government is doing her best to raise
the standard of living of the common man. It is, therefore, believed that by 2020
A.D. our country will be prosperous and powerful. India Vision 2020 is a Master Plan
to transform India into a developed country by 2020. This idea was the brainchild of
former President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Our country is rightly called an agricultural country. At present the condition of
agriculture is not much satisfactory. Production is low as compared with other
progressive countries of Europe and America. Farmers are taught and advised to
use improved methods of agriculture and scientific implements. So it is hoped that
within thirty years general output will be at least doubled. Then we shall meet our
domestic needs and expert food grains to some extent.
In the field of heavy industries, progress is being made. By that time, Indians would
also achieve new meaning and grace. The luxuries that on the privilege of a few
now-a-days would come within the reach of the masses. Standard of living would
rise and the present stage of hunger and poverty will become a thing of past.
India of 2020 AD-The future of India is very bright. Although the trend of coalition
government appears a political period of instability.
Can Indian Become A Superpower?
Unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. In this world, fear has
no place. Only strength respects strength, said Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, whom we all
know as an ex-President, a great scientist and the Missile man of India. Dr.Kalams
mission in life, from a small town Rameswaram to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, has
been to make India a superpower by 2020 through his work and motivation to the
people of India. But first, we must know what the term Superpower actually
means.
A superpower is a country with a dominant position in the international system,
which has the ability to influence events in its own interests and project power on a
worldwide scale to protect those interests. However, in a deeper sense, a country
which fulfils the following parameters is a superpower:
(i) A strong political system which is democratically elected.
(ii) Economic stability with productive reforms.
(iii) Trained manpower with a manageable amount of population.
(iv) Cultural & regional unity within
(v) High level of technical expertise & defence capabilities.
According to the Economic Survey 2010-11, Indias economy is currently growing at
a rate of 8.6% and is expected to grow higher at a rate of 9-9.25% in the next
financial year. However, to become a superpower, our own people must get food

and other basic commodities at an affordable price, for which India has to control
the high inflation, which was at a rate of 9.4%, earlier this year. Thus, we must be
focused on keeping the growth engine strong as well as on containing inflation, all
within the framework. A survey by Standard & Poors says that the top 500
American companies are doing well not because the US economy is recovering, but
because there is sustained growth in India & other BRIC nations. Thus, our economy
is on the right track, but we have to ensure that the funds sanctioned by the
Government duly reach the people at grassroots-level.
For India to become a superpower, we ought to have trained manpower with a
manageable amount of population. Today, India is the worlds second largest
country in terms of population after China and this high population has always been
a big worry and hindrance behind our growth prospects. But this trend is changing
and this has been proved by the provisional data of the Census 2011, which states
that Indias population has touched 1.21 billion. However, its population has raised
only 181 million in this decade (2001-2011) as compared to the rise of 183.3 million
in the last decade (1991-2001). Moreover another very important concern for the
nation is literacy and education of its masses. For India to grow at a sustained pace
to become a superpower, it needs people who are educated and trained. According
to Census 2011, a very encouraging fact is that Indias literacy rate has touched
74% in 2011, up from 65% in 2001 and just 52% in 1991. However, we have to
continue this trend so that we can achieve our target of 100% literacy and make
this great population to join hands, to make India a great nation. But along with
these things, India has to become a leader in innovation. It is a general notion that
the USA is the epicenter of innovation but the fact is that in the USA, many of the
people doing innovation are not American born. They come to America, because
great institutions like Harvard and Stanford are still the ideal locations in terms of
clusters of talent. If one wants to take a really cutting edge idea from the
laboratory to the market, the USA is still the best place. Indias elite institutions do
not seem to do quite as much in terms of commercial spinoffs as their counterparts
in other countries. India has to create clusters of talent around its top universities to
develop talent and support innovation. For India to become a superpower, we have
to support entrepreneurship to create an environment where more people like Ratan
Tata, Narayana Murthy, Kishore Biyani can come forward to help build a better India.
India has to have a system which gives priority to talent and merit before any other
factor. India business should push for changes and a framework where success
comes from enterprises and innovation and not from the proximity to politics. Along
with this, sole aim of IAS officers and also those who aspire to be one, should be to
work closely with different local bodies so that they all work together for the
development of the nation as a whole. They have to work tirelessly for the benefit of
the nation and fulfil the expectations of the common man.
India is a country of people of different cultures and religions. People of different
regions have different customs, but all live together in this country with unity and
dignity. Here, there is unity in diversity but still there are stray cases of serious
disputes between people of different communities. People have to understand each
other and work for each other irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.
Points in favor
Though India is the worlds biggest democracy and has a strong political system, yet
to be a superpower, we have to completely eradicate some weeds from our system
such as corruption and nepotism. The world corruption watchdog, Transparency

International, has ranked India as the 87th most corrupt country in its latest report,
which emphasizes how deep-rooted the corruption is in India. But at the same time,
we see people like Anna Hazare come forward and force the Government to redraft
the Lokpal Bill in the Parliament. His fast was not only an eye-opener for the
Government but also for the people to come forward and support such movements,
which will highly benefit the nation to be superpower in the coming years.
We need more people like Ms.Chhavi Rajawat, Indias youngest and only MBA to be
a village head. She quit high-profile job to become the Sarpanch of Soda village in
Rajasthan so that she could make a difference to rural India. Today, we have a sex
ratio of 914 girls for every 1000 boys, but have to understand that o make India a
superpower, we have to stop female foeticide by spreading more awareness in the
rural India about the importance of the girl child.
An essential criterion for a country to be a superpower is that it should have high
level of technical expertise and military capabilities. Now, it is beyond doubt that
India is a world leader in IT services and we have been a knowledge hub in the past
as well as present. Indian scientists and doctors have been excellent in terms of skill
and efficiency. As far as space technology is concerned, ISRO is renowned for
satellite-building and launching. Though, there have been some hiccups in our
space journey, yet with foreign collaborations, we are getting better. However, for
India to excel in the field of technology and bridge the gap between rural and urban
India, we have to fulfil the dream of connecting every region of India with the
Internet. It is a difficult task, no doubt, but with dedication, we have to accomplish
this task to make India a superpower. Indias defence capability is also increasing
and it is equipped with indigenously developed missiles and nuclear warheads. The
latest achievement of Indias defence organisation, DRDO, is indigenously designed
and developed light combat aircraft, Tejas. In addition to this, India is also the
worlds largest arms importer and has spent money to the tune of $50 billion after
the Kargil conflict to strengthen itself. Moreover, India also maintains amicable
relations with other countries as well as protects its own interests wherever
necessary. With its global presence and participation, India will also become a
permanent member of the United Nations in coming times.
Thus, if we analyse India from all sides, then we can easily see that India has all the
ingredients to be a superpower. Indias past tells us how India had been a target of
human atrocities as well as natural disasters, but it always managed to come out of
them and has grown wiser and stronger with every challenge. India is a country
where modernity has to blend with tradition. It is time where we have to walk the
talk. We, the people of this great nation, have to work with unity to make India a
superpower by 2020-25. We have to work with this vision and passion. Swami
Vivekananda has rightly said Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached. A
few wholehearted, sincere, energetic men and women can do more in a year than a
mob can in a century.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2536469
http://www.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/SR010/guha.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_as_an_emerging_superpower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXZ4pRhY-kU&noredirect=1
Points Against

Despite Indias "impressive" rise, its ambition to be a super power may remain just
thatan ambition, according to an authoritative new study by the London School of
Economics to which several Indian scholars have contributed.
It pointedly dismisses what it calls the US Secretary of State Hillary Clintons
"unequivocal verdict" during her India visit in 2009 that "India is not just a regional
power, but a global power.
The study, India: the Next Superpower? Acknowledges Indias "formidable
achievements" in fostering democracy, growth and cultural dynamism but
concludes that these are nullified by its structural weaknesses, widespread
corruption, poor leadership, extreme social divisions, religious extremism and
internal security threats.
India, it argues, still faces too many "developmental challenges" to qualify for
"super power" status, or to be considered a serious "counterweight" to China, a role
sought to be thrust on it by some in the West. Some of the reports authors wonder
whether India should even aspire to be a super power given its institutional
weaknesses and social and economic divisions.
Historian Ramachandra Guha, currently the Philippe Roman Chair in History and
International Affairs at LSE, suggests that rather than being seduced by the bright
lights of great power diplomacy, India should instead focus on reforming its
institutions and repairing the social fabric that seems to be coming off its seams.
We need to repair, one by one, the institutions that have safeguarded our unity
amidst diversity, and to forge the new institutions that can help us. It will be hard,
patient, slow work, he writes.
The study, a summary of which was released on Wednesday, starts off by
acknowledging that" Indias rise has certainly been impressive, and warrants the
attention that it has commanded".
"India has been one of the worlds best-performing economies for a quarter of a
century, lifting millions out of poverty and becoming the worlds third-largest
economy in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) terms. India has tripled its defence
expenditure over the last decade to become one of the top-ten military spenders.
And in stark contrast to Asias other billion-person emerging power, India has
simultaneously cultivated an attractive global image of social and cultural
dynamism," it says. But then come the "ifs" and "buts".
Plunging the knife into Indian ambitions, the report says: "Still, for all Indias
success, its undoubted importance and despite its undisputed potential, there is
cause for caution in assessing Indias claim to superpower status. India still faces
major developmental challenges. The still-entrenched divisions of caste structure
are being compounded by the emergence of new inequalities of wealth stemming

from Indias economic success. Indias democracy may have thrived in a manner
that few ever expected, but its institutions face profound challenges from
embedded nepotism and corruption. Indias economic success continues to come
with an environmental cost that is unsustainable."
These problems are compounded by Indias "pressing security preoccupations"
arising out of "insurgent violence" affecting large parts of the country and longfestering cross-border disputes.
The best that India can hope forthe study offers as a consolation-- is "to continue
to play a constructive international role in, among other things, the financial
diplomacy of the G20".
"Yet the hopes of those in the West who would build up India as a democratic
counterweight to Chinese superpower are unlikely to be realised anytime soon," it
concludes.
The report forms part of LSE IDEAS series on "Power Shifts". Authors include
Mukulike Bannerjee and D. Rajeev Sibal (both LSE) and Sandeep Sengupta, a
doctoral candidate in International Relations at Oxford University.

How Modi Can Make India A Global Superpower

A true national economy. Outsiders are amazed that much of India resembles
pre-revolutionary France, with many internal barriers standing in the way of
economic efficiency and growth. The U.S. has benefited enormously from having a
continental-size domestic market, as would India. Key to this would be passage of a
national general services tax to replace the stifling hodgepodge of local taxes that
are a baffling array of internal tariffs on the movement of goods. As Forbes
contributor Henry To has noted: India currently does not have a common market;
freight that crosses state borders is taxed multiple times by local governments,
resulting in a fragmented logistics system and multi hour delays at border
checkpoints. Perishables often spoil while logistics companies are set up with tax
avoidance in mind. Mr. To goes on to say that striking this tax morass would add
2% to Indias GDP growth.
Tax reform. Observers speculate that a new GST would come in at 20% or more.
This is too high, especially for a country that has so many people struggling to climb
out of poverty. Finance bureaucrats would find a rate of 10% to be too low, but a
reasonable rate would be easier to collect and would lessen avoidance incentives.
Regarding personal income, India should also take a page from Hong Kongsand
some 30 other countriestax books and enact a low-rate flat tax of, say, 10%, with
generous exemptions for adults and children, instead of todays tiered system.
Again, a low rate combined with simplicity would generate more growth and sharply
cut tax evasion.

The government is right in getting rid of the wealth tax, but theres no need to slap
a surtax on high-income earners. That simply hurts capital creation, which India
needs.
India is phasing in a reduction in the corporate tax, from 30% to 25%. Dont go slow;
cut it all at onceand 25% is still too high. India should follow the example of Hong
Kong, Singapore and others and trim the corporate tax to well below 20%.
The government must immediately get rid of the 1997 Minimum Alternate Tax,
which has been arbitrarily used to chase after foreign firms. That the Modi
administration still applies this capricious exaction is a dampener on foreign
investment.
Foreign direct investment. Limits have been raised in certain sectors, such as
insurance and construction. Systematic liberalizations each year would prove to be
a powerful magnet to overseas investors.
Make starting a business easy. The majority of Indians work in the informal
economy. A key reason for this is the expense, time and complexity of setting up a
legal business. Doing Business, the World Banks annual survey, ranks India as one
of the worst countries in this category. Setting up a business involves 13 different
procedures, which invites corruption and inhibits even trying. The government is
simplifying this process, but not nearly enough. A single portal to apply for all the
permits is helpful, but scrapping the need for these permits altogether would do the
trick. India should follow New Zealands example, where the process is simple, quick
and cheap. Growth of a formal entrepreneurial class would also generate political
support for changing Indias antigrowth labour laws. The government is working on
positively changing bankruptcy procedures. However, it must also reform other
aspects of the economy standing in the way of progress, such as contract
enforcement and obtaining various permits. Doing Business could be an
indispensable guide.
Land acquisition. A huge barrier to growth has been the difficulty businesses have
had in buying land. The government had proposed legislation to streamline this
process, but the Opposition still controls the Upper House. Prime Minister Modi may
have to make the two houses vote on the matter together. In his home state of
Gujarat, Modi has seen how factories can spring up when permits and
environmental clearances are handled expeditiously. Being labelled antifarmer is
inhibiting, but counter-measures, such as special bonuses to farmers for selling
land, could prove useful. This would tie in with one of the governments major and
ongoing initiatives of moving toward direct cash payments to the poor instead of
the corruption-laden system of in-kind benefits.
Privatisation. During its first term, Modis government must move ahead with
privatisation, especially of state-run banks. Sale of shares would be an easy source
of cash.

Monetary policy. Raghuram Rajan, head of the central bank, has been a breath of
fresh air, as he has focussed on taming inflation and moved away from the
Keynesian fallacy that cheap money stimulates growth. In fact, countries with
unstable currencies have lower long-term growth rates than those with stable
currencies.
In fact, India could learn from its former colonial master, Britain, which rose from a
second-tier European power into a globe-girdling empire, once Sir Isaac Newton
fixed the pound to gold. For starters, India could fix the rupee to the dollar, the way
Hong Kong has successfully done for more than 30 years.
Finally, Prime Minister Modi, like Margaret Thatcher, must make the case that free
markets are the best way to help the poor achieve higher and higher incomes