Indias Forms of Power

1.

Economic Power an ablility to control trade and

investment
2.

Military Power based on the strength of a

3.

4.

nations armed forces and allies that they may have. Cultural Power the influence of some countries through media, music, fashion and social beliefs. Geographical Power If a country controls a large area it becomes more influential through large populations or natural resources.

Economic Power
India has a significant economic power over the world. With global markets in textiles, agriculture and manufacturing, India has a network of connections all around the world with an input into many MEDCs including: The UK, USA and many European countries. This allows them to have significant control over these industries .
Some of the power and growth of these industries is as a result of FDI (foreign direct investment). Shown in the growth of the IT industry and statistics in the figure. Over two years the FDI doubled into Indias economy between 2004 and 2006.

Military Power
India s Military forces are over 1.3 billion people active in the county today with many more in reserve; rated as the third highest country for this second only to China and the USA.
Although it has only 100 nuclear missiles it still has a form of protection from foreign attacks. The country also has access to specialised equipment and high tech weaponry including the latest tanks, ballistic missiles and guns for their forces. Here is a picture of one of the latest MIG-29 fighter jets (worth around $29 million each).

Cultural Power
The Indian language is the second most widely spoken language around the world. This is possibly as a result of it being the second largest nation. This allows the spread of this language all around the world 380 million speakers.

There is also a significant proportion of the country that has a religious belief. The most predominant being Hinduism.
India also has a large input on fashion with bright coloured dresses and their own film industry of Bollywood. There is incredible power in this and the messages these cultural factors can have.

Geographical Power
The area consequently has good access to resources such as access to minerals due to its size India does have a large area for agriculture and farmland and a sizable oil and gas industry. Which is required to reach rapidly growing demand as a result of industrialisation, accelerated growth in population and the increasing affordability of cars. The sheer size of the country is astounding. At 3.3 million km it is the third largest country in the world. It has an enormous population of 1.1 billion people around 1/6 of the worlds total population.

What could be the implications of Indias power for other nations?

Political impact

India is likely to become a key political operator between the USA and China as it has a collaborative approach with many other nations It wants to gain a seat on the UN Security Council, as well as being more involved and active in many international political organisations

Political impact

As one of the BRICs, India is likely to gain more political power as it progresses towards superpower status It believes that it should have the opportunity to do this as it is a democratic state and has a relatively good track record in regards to human right, although it has more people living in poverty than any other country

Economic impact & trade

The direction of Indias trade is changing, away from Russia and Eastern Europe and towards the USA , EU and East Asia India has very strong trade links with China which are likely to benefit both countries the countries have set a trade target of $200bn of trade a year by 2015

Economic impact & trade

International firms are particularly keen to invest in India, due to skilled cheap labour and an emerging consumer market Indian companies such as Tata are likely to become major TNCs. Tata has already purchased many western companies e.g. Jaguar and Land Rover India is competing for FDI with the other BRICs in Africa

Will India become a regional or international superpower?

For several decades, India has been a significant player in international diplomacy. It has long been a leader amongst British Commonwealth countries.

Will India become a regional or international superpower?

As one of the first members of the world trade organisation, India was recognised as a leader of developing countries, taking a hard line against exploitation by the west. India in the 21st century has become more collaborative with developed nations, recognising becoming a key operator between the USA and china.

What evidence is there of Indias increasing power?

Increasing Population

Adds 1 Australia to itself every year Indias middle class is bigger than the population of the USA Over 40% of Indias population is young

Global Dominance in Goods & Services

Largest consumer of gold Largest producer of milk & tea Largest rail network Largest postal network Leading movie-making nation Today, India is on the verge of becoming the largest service provider in the world

Rapidly Growing Economy

Set to become the worlds fastest growing economy by 2013-2015 By 2050, India will account for 25% of the total GDP of the 9 developed nations in the world More billionaire citizens than any other country! Including China & Japan!

Research & Development

India will become the R&D hub of the world Intel, Cisco & GM have located their only R&D centers, outside the USA, in India 150 of the fortune 500 have already set up their operations in India Best country to be an investor in Newsweek

Leading Indian Firms

Worlds largest manufacturer of motorcycles

Worlds largest forging company

- Worlds largest ink plant

Lowest cost producer of CD recording media in the world

Lowest cost producer of steel

Acquisition

Tata group taking over Corus Steel Aditya Birla Group taking over Wovelis Aluminium Suzlon acquired Eve Holding one of

the worlds top manufacturer of wind mills

Patent Filings

Engineers at JWTC in Bangalore - 95 US patents

Engineers at TII R&D - 225 US patents

Education

150 million people for whom English is their first language Has the 3rd biggest English speaking workforce Worlds largest English daily is in India

The Times of India

The Medical School in New Delhi is now perhaps the best in the world Peter Drucker

Education

2.46 million graduates, 150,000 engineers & scientists every year Companies such as:

are all investing in the next knowledge capital of the world