Introduction
India is a sovereign nation located in the South Asian subcontinent of Asia. The country’s total land area is 3,287,263 square kilometers, which is considerably the seventh-largest in the world. The current estimated number of individuals in the country is 1.3 billion, which has the second largest population in the world and expected to have the largest population after 30 years. India is bordered with an Asian superpower, which is China to the northeast with Nepal and Bhutan. The country also shares borders with Pakistan to the west, Myanmar, and Bangladesh to the east. India also shares its maritime border with Thailand to the west and Indonesia to the south on its Andaman archipelago territory.
By 2020, it is unlikely that India will become a superpower. There are underlying factors that can be considered that hampers the country’s aim to become a future superpower. One major issue is the problem with its socio-economic factors. Although the country is seen as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India is suffering from widespread poverty issues. Almost 65% of the total population is still living below the poverty line. Allegations of corruption are also rampant across the country due to an improper delegation of funds, bribery, and alignment of organized crime groups in local communities. There is a significant gap between the upper class and lower class societies due to inequalities in terms of education, medication, and security issues. This is brought about by the India’s very high concentration of population that prompts the country to experience scarcity of resources even if the country’s land area is the seventh largest in the world or the third largest in continental Asia.
There are several indicators why India could soon become a new superpower in the world. One major issue is the consistent economic boom in the country. India’s 50% of its total population is composed of 35 years old and below, which has several promising strong human resources. India’s vast land and sea area are very rich in mineral resources, prompting the country to export minerals to other countries. The agricultural product of India is one of the most competitive in Asia, exporting several varieties of spices, vegetables, and fruits to other parts of the world. Infrastructure development is also rapidly expanding across the country, providing more opportunities for investment, job generation, and an increase in production of commodities. The high concentration of India’s population are diversified for manning its security agencies, engineering departments, health care systems, and in telecommunications networks (Gruzinski, 2015).
As a learning insight, India may not become a superpower by 2020 because it is too soon to predict the country’s international identity. This is brought about by challenges that hamper India’s progress over time. India is currently addressing social, economic, and political issues to ensure that the country becomes an economic superpower by the second half of the century. India is expected to become a superpower when it will start addressing its societal problems in terms of poverty, criminal activities, terror threats, and infrastructure developments. The country also developed several new agencies such as space agency, IT infrastructure, medical research facilities, and agricultural industries to further improve the country’s economic and political growth. In this case, India will become a shining gem in Asia that creates a bridge between the continents of Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Reference
- Gruzinski, Serge (2015), The Eagle and the Dragon: Globalization and European Dreams of Conquest in China and America in the Sixteenth Century, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-07-4568-134-4
