‘India could emerge as major power next year’

New Delhi, Jan 27:  India is slowly emerging as an economic and military power whose ascension affects everyone, Geopolitical Futures said in a report.

It has one of the fastest-growing major economies — certainly among comparably developed and similarly sized economies. It must now be included with nations that influence the global system, the report said.

India’s national strategy is to balance between greater powers, particularly Russia and the US, a practice that will inevitably create tensions inside a country that is famously variegated.

India will, therefore, grow in fits and starts as it manages its relationships with historical adversaries and skews ties with traditional allies, the report said.

New Delhi will, for example, enhance economic and industrial cooperation with Russia to balance against China.

There have always been questions as to when India would emerge as a great power. Next year seems the moment, the report said.

The central issue this year will be the ongoing spasm of economic dysfunction, due in equal parts to the war in Ukraine, post-pandemic recovery efforts, and the more banal aspects of ordinary business cycles.

These problems are compounded by the dramatic economic crisis in China, its effects inevitably transmitting throughout the world by virtue of China’s economic weight, the report said.

Trans-national, multifaceted economic crises like these take years to resolve, and in their resolution, they will generate political consequences within countries and between them. This phenomenon will intensify in 2023. And though the war in Ukraine is agonizing to observe, it is not the most important issue we face this year. That honour belongs to China, the report said.