Andrew Ehrensperger History 9C Castelli 21 January, 2013

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Demographic trends show that India is poised to become one of the worlds next superpowers. Do you agree with this statement?
India is considered to be the next superpower; a country superpower contains stability in many fields which keep it protected from a crisis. India contains a powerful and dominating economy which brings it to the level of being the next superpower. According to Prininidias Slide Share presentation of India, over the last ten years, gross domestic product (GDP) has been reported to be growing in a rate of 6.3%; the rate is bringing this country amongst the highest gross domestic product (GDP) ranks in the world; the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the CIA World Factbook all rank India 10th in gross domestic production (Picture A). Having an honorable rank in gross domestic production attracts investors and companies to produce products in that country and make partnerships with it; more money is later on inputted in the measures of national income and output of the countrys economy (GDP.) Evidently, Wikipedia states that in the world ranks of exportation, India ranks nineteen out of two hundred and three countries with $307,200,000,000 dollars of export annually (Picture B). With the prestigious rank of exports and money made per year, India can widen their market beyond their local market and enable competition for sales of products abroad; the exported goods contribute to a stable economic growth within India which is still rising. Due to the economic growth and stability within the Indian borders, the country will rise to become a superpower with additionally avoiding multiple crises.

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India should not be considered a super power due to the average income the population makes per day and also the colossal disease epidemic. According to the statistics from the Human Development Index (HDI), 41.6% of the Indian population lives below the poverty line, making money below $1.25 every day (Picture C). With less than $2 made by more than one third of the population in India, necessary resources like shelter, food and water are limited and expensive; many people become sick from drinking unsanitary water and from living in horrendous home conditions. Gapminder.org indicates statistics showing that 2,400,000 Indians live with HIV/AIDS in the year 2009, from the year 1990 when there were only 250,000 Indians living with the life threatening disease (Picture D). HIV/AIDS is a very harmful disease in which some Indians do not even know they have it and continue to spread it through sexual intercourse; during the late process of HIV/AIDS, Indians have to quit their job due to weakness and this later on brings down the economy depending on their job importance. India should not become the next superpower due to life threatening diseases - yet spreading - and the immense amount of people living under the poverty line.

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Frankly based on research, India will become the next worlds superpower, because yet there is an immense amount of poverty, there is also a great amount of population; with more than half of the population living above the poverty line, education can be accessible and jobs can be acquired; jobs can improve exports and imports as well as big important jobs can alter the economy positively. Disease is a downside in India, especially HIV/AIDS; with education for more than half of the population, science research can help provide links to future cures. India stands at a point with many advantages, and that is why India is poised to become the next worlds superpower.