Geography A-level exam question practice with 11/12 mark answer
Evaluate the evidence that India is an emerging superpower (12)
A superpower is a country or group of countries that have large amounts of influence over
other countries due to economic, military, technological and cultural strength as well as
diplomatic and soft power influence. An emerging superpower is a country with the potential
to become a superpower with global and political reach due to its rapidly growing influence.
India has a fast growing economy of 8.7% each year due to increasing tertiary industries.
They have a fair and stable government, and the 4th largest army in the world. It already has
large soft power due to the 2nd largest population in the world (1.408 billion in 2021) and
many cultural influences throughout the world, such as food, films and religion.
India could become a superpower since it contains many characteristics which create a
superpower. For example, it has a large young population which could be used for labour, it
has a large amount of mineral resources such as 4th largest reserves in the world for coal,
and 6th largest reserve for lithium ore. It includes a fair and stable demographic government
and a somewhat powerful military, with nuclear power. India also plays an important and
influential role in organisations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and
East Asia Summit, which make it more influential among the large core countries of the
world (US). It also plays a very important role in culture throughout the world, due to very
popular food, films and religious beliefs, which evidently results in many tourists exploring
India every year (over 17.9 million in 2019), with a growth of 3.5% each year.
However, India may struggle to become a superpower due to some factors which hold it
back. For example, India doesn’t rank well for health and well-being as the quality of life
(QoL) in India is incredibly low, with over 46% of Indians reporting a poor QoL. This may be
due to the fact that the quality of the environment is extremely terrible, with 8 in 10 expats
(individuals living and/or working in a country other than their country of citizenship) rating
negatively. India also has an ongoing conflict from 1947 with mainly Pakistan but also China
over Kashmir and whose territory it is. Recently, in February 2019, India carried out
across-border airstrike near Balakot, Pakistan in relation to the Pulwama attack.
When we compare facts and data about India to another upcoming rapidly growing
superpower such as China and an already powerful core country such as the US, we can
notice that India is not doing as well as they are. For example, when compared to the
Chinese military, India has less number of tanks, armoured vehicles and mobile rocket
projectors. However, it does contain a higher number of military forces than China does.
When comparing economic growth, once again, China’s real GDP growth outpaced India’s
by over 1.5% points annually. However, the tables are set to be at least partly turned in the
coming years.
In conclusion, India can definitely become a superpower in the upcoming years due to many
characteristics which make it a strong influential country, yet we can definitely conclude that
it will not be as powerful as the US or China will be.
