India Ranks Fourth on Geopolitical Power Index

India does poorly on governance, despite its esteemed democracy, with a score of 3(+), a dip of one point over its GPI 2011 (H1) score. Corrupt politicians, complicit bureaucrats and regular terror attacks have shaken citizens’ faith in institutions. Though the governance deficit has hurt India’s international image, with foreign investment inflows displaying instability due to policy ambiguities and moderation in GDP growth, the pressure from the judiciary, media and civil society is increasingly enforcing government accountability, including proposed anti-corruption legislation. This has allowed India to stay ahead of France in the GPI rankings.

India scores well on four key qualitative parameters, namely, history, religion, society and diaspora. These are soft factors that subtly but significantly influence a nation’s interaction with other countries. India’s non-violent history, multi-religious society and global diaspora are unique assets in India’s ascent as a world power.

Explaining the conclusions of the study, Merchant says “GPI rankings are dynamic, not static. A country trends up, down or sideways. These trendlines are denoted in the accompanying chart by (+) or (-) markings; sideway trends are unmarked. India scores a high 8(+) on population (outstanding demographics), 7(+) on economy (the world’s fourth largest GDP of $3.75 trillion by purchasing power parity) and 6(+) on military (the world’s third largest armed forces). But it does abysmally on development (3+), a reflection of widespread poverty, hunger and decrepit civic infrastructure though the (+) trend line indicates that high GDP growth is gradually having a positive impact on all three.”