Introduction
India, a country located in the South Asia has a population of over 1.2 billion people making it the world’s largest democracy. The population makes the country the second most populous county after China. By area, India is the seventh largest country. The Indian Ocean boarders India on the South, while on the southwest, there is the Arabian Sea. The Bengal Bay is on the southeast of India (Evans, 2011). The country shares boarders with China, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma. In addition, Indonesia and Thailand share a maritime boarder with India’s Nicobar and Andaman Islands (Reagan, 2013).
India is the home of the prehistoric Indus Valley. The country has ancient historic trading routes and massive empires. History identified India for her antique cultural and commercial wealth. India is the home of the world four religions of Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism. The four religions originated from India (Reagan, 2013). The people of India adopted Islam and Christianity in the first millennium. The two religions played a vital role in shaping the diverse culture in India. In the 18th century, the British east India Company gradually brought India under its administration. However, the United Kingdom took over and directly ruled India in the 19th century. India got its independence in 1947 under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. He led a non- violent resistance that saw India get her Independence from United Kingdom (Evans, 2011).
India has continued to become the rising powerhouse globally. India, for the past two decades, has experienced an influx of new opportunities and new money. With these opportunities, India languishes in corruption and poverty (Reagan, 2013). The focus of this document is on the exploration of India’s global context in the world currently. This paper explores on the important contributions of India and the way the world views India. Religion, education and the independence of India has gradually shaped the Socio- economic and political evolution of India. Education has been the key issues in India (Evans, 2011).
Many Indians focused on agriculture, and they brushed off education. This led to child labor, poverty and illiteracy in India. However, the international intervention is gradually eliminating this problem of education. The international communities are teaching the Indians on the importance of school, and they build efficient education systems (Reagan, 2013). Christianity and Islam have from the past tried to shape India. The two religions give India opportunities to participate in civilization, and the religions give the people of India alternative ways to view the world. India’s independence has enabled India be independent and stand on her own. The UK’s governance gave India various opportunities in terms of resources and infrastructure (Giles, 2012).
The SWOT analysis of India
India’s economy is the tenth largest economy in the world. This fact is based on her nominal GDP. India has the third best purchasing power parity, PPP. India is becoming the worlds’ fastest rising economies (Giles, 2012). The world considers India as the new industrialized country. India’s economy has attracted the world’s interest because of its peculiar trends of the economy. After India achieved its independence, its economy become like a socialist economy. Its economy is democratic with public sectors and imposes enormous strict regulations on the private sector (Reagan, 2013). The economy became to a stagnation point in 1990. Dr. Manmohan Singh pioneered reforms that improved the social and economic development of India. Economists predict that the economy of India will be ranked the third best economy after China and America (Giles, 2012).
Strength
India’s economic strength lies on its healthy nature. This is evident from its ever-growing economy even during the 2008-2009 economic recessions. India has a strong credit and banking systems that withstands the heavy downturns and regulations by the Reserve Bank of India. This strong credit and banking system has brought transparency to India’s banking system (Giles, 2012). Agriculture in India employs approximately 50% of its population. The agriculture makes India self-reliant. This is because it can survive on the food supply from her agriculture. Currently, India is one of the leading producers in many agricultural products boosting her export sector. The large population of India produces her with adequate work force. The youth provides the much-anticipated labor, giving India an upper hand over other countries (Reagan, 2013).
India has an extensive education system. India has the third largest engineer reservoir in the world. The engineers provide the country with skilled personnel uplifting the face of the country. The engineers ensure the rapid growth of the BPO and the IT sectors. The high English speaking population provides skilled labor for most of the country’s firms. This reduces the costs of hiring and training unskilled labor (Giles, 2012).
Weaknesses:
India’s depending on agriculture is one of the primary weaknesses of India. Agriculture depends on monsoons trade. Production of agriculture can be excessive large and can cause economic turbulence. India lags behind in its social development. Many people in India live below the poverty line. The illiteracy level in India is high. Almost a third of their populations remain illiterate (Reagan, 2013). This makes the people exploitable by the outside world. Malnutrition, inadequate health facilities, and poverty are factors that are making India lack behind. These weaknesses make India not to match other super powers.
Opportunities
India has many growth opportunities. The government ought to promote and support the small and medium enterprises, SMEs, and agriculture. The two sectors have potential to make Indian’s economy to grow and match other strong economies like USA and China (Giles, 2012). India’s government should concentrate on implementing policies that promote rural development. Many of the India’s population reside in rural areas. Therefore, the government should establish policies that see development of the rural areas (Evans, 2011). The government should promote the JNNURM and MNREGA schemes. These schemes penetrate to the low level in the India’s population. Tourism industry thrives in India. The government must harness India’s potential on tourism. Tourism helps the country raise foreign exchange and at the same time creates job opportunities for its population (Giles, 2012).
. Threats:
Corruption and terrorism are the main threats that the country faces. Corruption and terrorism hinder the growth of trade and people. People and trade are vital for the growth of the economy. When movement of trade and people is hindered, the economy will be stagnant or move at an extremely slow growth rate, which is not healthy for any economy (Reagan, 2013). The ever-rising black- marketing, hoarding and inflation pose threats to the India’s economy. The global economic downturns are threatening the economic growth of India. The government ought to redefine stringent policies to steer India out of the recession (Giles, 2012).
The country has the second largest populations in the word. This threatens the resources in the country. The resources available in India cannot support the ever-growing population. India depending on agriculture is dangerous. Agriculture depends on monsoon trade. This can be dangerous when the country would experience inadequate monsoon trade. It will mean that the country’s agriculture will decrease, slowing down the economy (Reagan, 2013).
References
Evans, K. (2011, December 27). Tribune india. Retrieved February 4, 2013, from Tribune India Web site: www.tribneindia.com
Giles, D. (2012, January 14). Hindustan times. Retrieved February 4, 2013, from Hindustan Times web site: www.hindustantimes.com
Reagan, R. (2013, January 21). Maps of the World. Retrieved February 4, 2013, from maps of the World Web site: www.mapsofworld.com
