Is India a global superpower?

India's economy makes it an emerging superpower

Question: Is India a global superpower?
Position‹3 of 3: No, India is an emerging superpower
Argument1 of 2›: India's economy makes it an emerging superpower

India's rapidly growing economy will result in rising from an emerging superpower to a global superpower.

The argument

India is classified as an emerging superpower rather than an established one, and the classification rests principally on the scale and direction of its economy. It currently ranks as the seventh-largest economy but is estimated to reach third within five years — a trajectory that matters more than the present ranking, because what identifies an emerging power is the rate of change rather than the position already held. The link between that growth and superpower status runs through state capacity. As India's domestic and international economies grow, so will their budget to help resolve issues within the country. A larger economy yields a larger revenue base, and a larger revenue base is what allows a government to act at scale — on infrastructure, on public services, and on the problems that would otherwise constrain further growth. The evidence that this is already under way is domestic. In recent years, India's poverty level has dropped drastically, which the argument treats as proof that development is reaching the population rather than accumulating at the top: more citizens have a high quality of life than before. Government-funded programs have begun to alleviate the most pressing domestic issues, such as healthcare and sanitation — the kind of basic provision that determines whether economic growth translates into a healthier and more capable population. Those improvements then feed back into the economy. More Indian citizens have opportunities for education and employment, which stimulates the economy further: a better-educated workforce produces more output, which yields more revenue, which funds further provision. What that cycle describes is a country still in transition rather than one that has arrived. India has the trajectory and increasingly the resources of a superpower, but it is still converting them into capability — which is why it is best described as an emerging superpower rather than an established global one.

Premises

[P1]A country qualifies as an emerging superpower when its economy is large and rapidly growing toward top global rankings. [P2] India is currently the seventh-largest economy and is projected to become the third-largest within five years. [P3] This economic growth has reduced poverty and funded programs improving healthcare, sanitation, education, and employment for Indians. [C] Therefore, India's economic trajectory makes it an emerging superpower rather than an established one.

Counter-arguments

India will not be considered a global superpower for a long time because of how severe its issues are with overpopulation, poverty, and healthcare. The country will not be able to keep up with its rapidly growing population, so there will always be citizens living in poverty. It will take a considerable amount of time and money to fund proper sanitation for all of India, even its most rural parts. With all of these unresolved issues, India cannot be considered an emerging power.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] The Indian government cannot keep up with the growing population.

Proponents cited

Niranjan Rajadhyaksha
“The dramatic liberalization of that year and further policy changes by governments in the late 1990s were a smashing success in some ways—India has a far more stable economy and is far more prosperous than before. Average dollar incomes have more than tripled since 1991. Diets have improved and more proteins are being consumed. School enrollment has soared. Human development indicators increased more in the first decade of the current century than they did in the 1990s.”
Dharma Kumar
“Instead of regarding India as a failed or deformed nation-state we should see it as a new political form, perhaps even as a forerunner of the future. We are in some ways where Europe wants to be, but we have a tremendous job of reform, of repairing our damaged institutions, and of inventing new ones”