Capitalism and the Rise of a Global India

When India launched market-oriented economic reforms in 1991 not many expected that it would lurch from a severe crisis to an aspiring great power within a short span of three decades. India today is among the fastest growing major economies in the world with its GDP predicted to be behind only USA and China in the next few decades. Such a change in fortunes is unprecedented for a county that struggled to grow while maintaining its fiscal sustainability during the heydays of socialism. India’s global presence is easily recognizable with its footprint in trade in goods and services, capital investment, infrastructure development and migration of productive labour across the globe. Power can have various bases however the economic dimension remains pivotal in reinforcing other forms of capabilities a nation requires to flex its muscle globally. India’s recent surge owes to the capitalistic market-oriented reforms and therefore to continue the current growth momentum it shall further need to deliver on reforms without giving in to the socialist populist demands of a vociferous democracy. A liberal democracy and a capitalist economy remain by far the safest bet for India to emerge fully as a major power in the world.