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Between East and West: India is grabbing its share of the pie in the economy, but also in geopolitics

The most beautiful models in the world come from India (a total of six have emerged). Yoga, the beloved physical discipline, was born in that country. Of course, there is also Mahatma Gandhi, the man who led India out of colonialism in 1947 and introduced it to the world of freedom and democracy. Non-violently. And for most, when it comes to India at first mention, that would be it. Okay, there’s also some Indian cuisine with fragrant spices, animal exoticism, hyperproduction of Bollywood film production, sacred cows, and a huge gap between the rich and those at the bottom, without connective tissue, a middle class. But, economics and geopolitics are difficult. Well, wrong!

In addition to the fact that next year, according to all predictions, it will surpass China in population, with an average age of 27 years, thus in the prime of physical and creative strength, India is grabbing its share of the pie in geopolitics. Because, good cards have fallen into their hands.

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Ljubo Jurčić

photo Ratko Mavar

—– In the war of worlds that is currently unfolding before our eyes, the key question is how India will align itself. Russia and China are against the USA, and it is making a great effort to attract the second most populous country to the West. India is, admittedly, spiritually closer to China, but they have quite a few open military and security issues. However, the fact is that the world and capital, after China, which belongs to the 21st century, will turn to India, and only then to Africa. Their advantage is the English language as the official one, and growth estimates are on India’s side, which will grow more than 6 percent in the coming years, while China will grow around four to five percent – assures economist Ljubo Jurčić.

However, Kristijan Kotarski from the Faculty of Political Science does not glorify the role of that country, primarily its economic role.

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Kristijan Kotarski

photo Ratko Mavar

—– India plays an important part in QUAD (the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue consisting of the USA, Japan, India, and Australia) which aims to counter the growing influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region. In the long term, India’s interests converge more with the West than with the block of states that share an authoritarian model of governance. However, aware of its strategic role, India sees an increased maneuvering space created by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is buying huge quantities of Russian oil and artificial fertilizers at a discount to maintain economic stability in a country with a huge percentage of young population.

Until now, India has purchased quite a bit of military equipment from the Russians, but now Russia is becoming a less attractive partner as it is under sanctions and lacks technology for sophisticated weaponry. Here, only China can step in, but it would be difficult for them to agree to transfer their military technology to India through the Russians – Kotarski specifies, adding that India is the third largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity, but when measured in US dollars, it is a small market compared to the EU and China.

Still, why it is necessary to open that huge market and how to get there can be read in the new digital and printed issue of Lider.

And India will also be discussed at the traditional Lider gathering Day of Great Plans, which will be held on September 21 in Zagreb.