Context: 

This article is dealing with the dilemma of India’s role to tackle domestic issues & to become a global power and what priorities India needs to maintain and what is the need of the hour.

India’s Growth: 

• The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs in Economic Survey 2022-23 projected a baseline GDP growth of 6.5 percent in real terms in FY24. 
• The projection is broadly comparable to the estimates provided by multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the ADB and by the RBI, domestically.

Image Credits: PIB

Image Credits: PIB

A Comparison of India:

Role Playing by India:

• A Pole in World Politics: India is a bridge between the north and south and east and west.
• Strategic Position: India is playing its strategic diplomacy very well in the contemporary international system. 
  • Example- Ukraine Issue: India is trying to mediate between Ukraine and Russia to bring an end to the war, without taking anyone’s side.

Challenges Faced by India:

• Economical Challenge: 
  • Despite being the fifth largest economy in the world, its GDP per capita ($1,947) was low even Bangladesh ($2,227) in 2021.
• Infrastructural & Governance Challenge: 
  • In India ease of doing business may have improved, but starting a business without a bribe is still not easy. 
  • A few days of rain brings the national capital to its knees. 
  • Regional, caste, ethnic and religious divisions run deep.
• Poverty Tackle: 
  • One of the most serious concerns for India is to reduce poverty and improve the well-being of millions of Indians living under the poverty line.
• Decision Making: 
  • A weak domestic economy prevents politicians from allocating adequate resources for foreign policy objectives.

Conclusion: 

• Ignoring or dismissing the global consequences of a rising India’s power is unwise, but doing so without being rooted in the realities of the country’s inherent limitations would be a strategic blunder.
• India’s ability to shape international politics must also be a reflection of its domestic priorities which should be tilting towards the well being of its people.
  • India needs to maintain a balance between its domestic policies and to take steps in the global scenario to become a global power.

News Source: The Hindu