India emerges as Asia's 3rd most powerful nation, Hardeep Puri credits PM Modi's leadership for ascent

NEW DELHI: The Sydney-based Lowy Institute has placed India as the third most powerful nation in its Asia Power Index 2024, just behind China and Japan.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri welcomed India’s ascent into the select league and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for propelling the nation to global superpower status.

Puri, lauding the country’s rising prominence, said, “India’s rise is no accident. This is the direct result of Prime Minister Modi’s aggressive diplomatic strategy and his bold ambitions to reshape India’s place in the world. Without his leadership, India would still be languishing behind, but today, we see a nation on the verge of superpower status.”

The latest Asia Power Index, released by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, said that India, being seen as a potential superpower for a long time, has finally started flexing its muscles on the regional stage.

“India’s power in Asia is growing while that of China is plateauing despite its continued economic and military growth,” the report said.

The Lowy Institute report notes India’s significant gains in Economic Capability, Diplomatic Activity, and Future Resources, signalling a demographic dividend that could fuel its continued rise.

Hardeep Puri said, "It’s PM Modi’s tireless effort on the world stage that has put India back on the map. He has taken India’s nonalignment policy and transformed it into a powerful tool for gaining leverage in global diplomacy.”

He further stated, “While countries like China are ageing and facing a slowdown India, under PM Modi, has the resources and the leadership to take the throne as the new kingmaker of Asia."

“Those who question Modi’s impact on India’s rise need only look at the facts. India’s trajectory is up, and the world can no longer ignore it,” he added.

The senior BJP leader also took a shot at previous Congress governments and said, "The country was left rudderless by the previous government’s indecisive and directionless approach. They said the Indian economy will be third largest by 2043 and PM Modi is guaranteeing it will be so in his third term itself. The IMF has, in fact, recently forecast that India will be the third largest economy by 2027. Under their leadership, India would never have made it to the top three on any power index."