Senior columnist John C. Hulsman feels India remains a rising power despite COVID-19 tragedy

India is witnessing a deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with people facing an acute shortage of hospital beds and oxygen supply for the past several weeks.

The virus has so far claimed 291331 lives, leaving the country in a state of shock.

Amid the crisis which the nation is now facing, John C. Hulsman wrote in his opinion published in Arab News: "Despite its real and obvious troubles, there is little doubt that India remains the greatest rising power on the planet. It has a number of fundamental political, economic and demographic strengths that will make it self-evidently one of the most powerful countries in the world."

He said India's political power structure is remarkably stable.

"Long-term political stability and an economic and demographic liftoff already in progress make the essentials of India strikingly clear," he wrote.

"Coupled with these political advantages, India’s demography affords it a mighty relative advantage. It is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by 2024. Crucially, more than 50 percent of India’s population is below the age of 25 and 65 percent is under the age of 35," he said.

Speaking on the economic progress which the country might witness in future, he said: "By 2050, it is estimated that India will account for a startling 15 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). Coming out of the COVID-19 economic abyss, the subcontinent is set for a golden era of renewed growth."

"While India’s GDP (as was true of most of the rest of the world) cratered by 8 percent in the pandemic-dominated year of 2020, the International Monetary Fund estimates India’s economy is on course to grow by an impressive 11.5 percent this year (the only major global economy predicted to experience double-digit growth) and 6.8 percent in 2022," he said.