INDIA-AN EMERGING SUPER POWER

India is an ancient land where innumerable civilizations thrived. It is a country which, has
withstood the ravages of time and upheld its identity as an independent, self-reliant nation.
India is a land of diversity, where variety is the spice of life.A country that is the abode of
over 1/6th of the global population, it is a nation that is vibrant with the dream of its people.
India of the 21st century is not just a nation, but a dream-a vision of countless souls aspiring
to belong to a strong, self-reliant, powerful and developed nation.
In the beginning of 1990-91 the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao was forced to
declare that "our coffers are empty" and India was forced to pledge its gold to borrow the
scarce forex. But in 2004 Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh in his Independence Day
speech said, "From being a borrower, India today lends money to poorer nations".The
economic growth rate is poised to touch the figure of 8 percent even as the world economy
has slumped. Once empty coffers are now bulging with about $139 billion foreign
exchange.This year India's growth rate could outstrip China's, according to Asia Week and
prove more sustainable. From far off Silicon Valley to home base Bangalore, Indians are big
in global software development. India has also made stupendous progress in the
entertainment industry and Bollywood is no less than Hollywood.
India's core institutions, from an independent judiciary and a feisty free Press to a massive
minimum nuclear deterrence and always a political military, are anchored by roots more than
half a century old.There is mounting support for India to become a permanent member of the
United Nations Security Council. India could well be looking forward to metamorphose from
being a regional player to a global player in the decades ahead. This year, India strongly
contended for holding the 2010 Commonwealth Games and won the bid in the face of a
strong contender like Canada.The country's scientists plan to launch a moon probe (Project
Chandrayaan). Then there is the brightest jewel in India's crown: its firm adherence to
democracy. Put all this together and the surprise is not that India is gore crashing the elite
Super Power Club but that it did not happen earlier.
In order to belong to a Super Power Club, the country must be amongst the front ranking
nation in the fields like Economy, Defense, Science and Technology and Information
Technology so as to play a leadership role in politics and diplomacy.International Monetary
Fund and World Bank appreciated India's annual growth rate of 6-7 percent though there is a
scope for further improvement. Solid economic base acts like a 'shock absorber'. This 'shock
absorber' reduces the impact of adverse developments on the domestic front.
Goldman Sachs report on global economics (October 1, 2003) that, "If things go right, in less
than 40 years, Brazil, Russia, India, China- the BRICs economies together could be larger
than G-7 in $ terms."At present, we are one of the major South Asian powers, both
economically and militarily. In fact, the latest World Investment Report released by

UNCTAD clearly indicates that India possesses a great potential to challenge China
economically in the near future. Our country today is having virtually all types of industries
from bicycle to aircraft.Foreign investors are very ready to grab Indian markets. In fact, our
country is among the top ten hottest destinations for foreign investors. Investments by foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) during 2003 crossed the $7 billion mark-more than double the
previous high of $3 billion recorded in 1995.
India has also attained considerable progress in the field of Education and ranks second in the
world, with more than50, 00,000 students enrolled in higher education. Our universities and
educational institutions have earned international acclaim within a short span of their
inception. We are in a position to challenge the world power through brainpower and mind
power nurtured in our schools, universities, IIT's and IIm's. India has 5 lakh engineers, 2.5
lakh doctors and 75 lakh graduates.
No wonder India has become the back office to global corporations as a waking BPO giant
that has made the US administration jittery, forcing it to bring a law against outsourcing.
India is also the centre of cutting-edge research, the global original equipment manufacturer
of auto ancillaries and the preferred supplier of infrastructure erection- construction
skills.Science and Technology is racing ahead, discovering new avenues. Implementations
and improvisations are being carried out day-by-day, improving the living standards and
finding solutions for problems, which were never thought to emerge in the near future.
Starting from tissue culture we have traveled up to cloning products, whereby the carbon
copies of life are produced for future use. Gene therapy has started giving a new lease of life
to patients suffering from incurable diseases.Genetic engineering has amassed invaluable
depth of knowledge in all walks of life.
Science and Technology has advanced immensely and Indians rule the roost in Information
Technology (IT). It is not the much published IT and BPO sectors alone in which we have
demonstrated our excellence but also in diverse other fields too. By investing overseas from
Sudan to Sri Lanka, firms like ONGC and IOC are transforming themselves from domestic
oil giants into multinational energy majors.During his visit to Johannesburg, South Africa,
our former Hon'ble President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam(late) announced an ambitious $50
million Programme to connect all the 53 countries of the African Union by the integrated
satellite, fibre optics and wireless network. India's offer of a "connectivity mission" among
the African nations shows the true potential of India.
If India is to become a world power, we should start playing a proactive role at various
international meets (like we did at the recent WTO meeting in Cancun, Mexico). We should
increase our participation in various activities at the world level. Our presence should be
substantial and visible to all and if need be, we should register our presence forcefully and
not just get sidelined.We have come closer to the countries in the South-East Asian region
and after an India- ASEAN Summit, on December 22,2003, India, Myanmar and Thailand
agreed to kick off the first phase of $700 million 1,360 km trilateral highway linking the three
nations.

The Vision 2020 Report, prepared by a committee headed by Planning Commission member,
Mr. S.P. Gupta, visualizes that by the next 15 years, the country's 1.35 billion people would
be better fed, better dressed and better housed, healthier, more educated and living longer
than any generation in the country's history.The committee also envisions quadrupling of the
per capita income if the country if the country maintains a growth rate of 9 percent per annum
and the population growth rate of 9 percent per annum and the population growth comes
down to about 1.6 percent per annum.
"Assuming that India achieves this quadrupling of per capita income by 2020, it would attain
a level of development far higher than where China is today, and on par with upper- middle
income countries such as Argentina, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico and South Africa," the report
says.India is on its way to become a self-sufficient military power with "The Self-reliance
Mission in Defense, 1995-2005". We do have large number of military force. We are a fair
strong power since we have one of the largest armies in the world. In recent past the country
managed to expand the reach of its Navy and Air Force. Our ships are sailing around the
world.
Given the size of the country, given its size of population, given its endowment of resources,
given its diversity and endowment of skilled labour there is no reason India cannot be a Super
Power. Our major concern is to develop the economy. And if once we succeed in developing
the economy other things will follow. Japan is one such example.Management must be
efficient, good and systematic. The road map to become a Super Power is that it does not
bypass the majority. In the mixed economy like ours balance is a must. Targeting certain
areas for the development simply mean narrow vision.
Indian Diaspora spread across the four corners of glove has brought laurels for the country
excelling in every conceivable field. According to a recent survey by a German magazine:
"There are 3.22 millions of Indians in the US (1.5 percent of population). Yet 38 percent of
doctors and 12 percent of scientists in the US are Indians.Thirty-six percent of scientists, 34
percent of Microsoft employees and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians. You may even
find Indians in the US President's core strategic teams as well as in the Pentagon and the Bell
Lab. It is not very surprising to find Indian business leaders in billionaires' Club and business
organizations in the Fortune List.
There is another India that has become static, sector wise and state wise. How are we going to
solve the other chronic problems such as urban and rural poverty, unemployment, illiteracy,
child labour, and exploitation of women, rampant corruption and the like? Corruption should
be looked upon as the AIDS of our system.AIDS comes out of uncontrolled indulgence in
sex. Corruption is nothing but financial rape and financial adultery. India can be said to have
reached the top of the world only when we erase the dividing line between the haves and
have nots. But this dividing line can be erased if there is a strong political will among all
concerned the political class, the bureaucracy, the corporate world and the community itself.
Whatever the field, spiritual or materialistic, India and Indians can set the farthest goals and
reach them if they are propelled by strong will power and faith in themselves. When you

become a model of excellence, which can ignore you? For there is nothing better than the
best. And we have shown to the world that India and Indians can do it! Jai Hind!!