On 15 August next, India will celebrate 61 years of independence. The former British colony has the largest population in the world after China and it is the largest multi-party parliamentary democracy on the planet. It has a potential that could turn it into one of the driving forces behind the world economy in the 21st century. However, a significant part of the population lives in misery.

As a result, India has a long way to go in areas such as reducing poverty and the migration of workers from the country to industry or services. Unlike China, the Indian population of around 1,100 million inhabitants is very young. Even so, India can only take advantage of this demographic advantage if it creates sufficient jobs for the people who constantly join its workforce; otherwise, the high levels of unemployment could exacerbate social tension.

Despite the importance of its technological sector, as an economy, India is still far from reaching the importance of China, which is presently the world’s factory. However, India is becoming the great world services provider. Firstly, this is due to the high level of education of part of its population and, secondly, to the fact that salary costs are very low, which means that it can offer very competitive goods and services on international markets. For this reason, India attracts many American and European companies from the services sector, especially software, which subcontract many services to Indian enterprises.

The 21st century will be an Asian century. Thanks to its vast size and formidable exporting power, China is already becoming the economy of Asia and the world. However, China will not stand alone in the world economic order. India has the potential for being there with it. India is the China of the future.