For years, India has been called a “rising power.” The phrase carried promise, but also hesitation as if India’s ascent was always just over the horizon. The Asia Power Index 2025, released by the Lowy Institute, finally settles that debate. India has emerged as Asia’s third most powerful nation, surpassing Japan and solidifying its place behind only the United States and China.
More importantly, this year’s edition introduced a dedicated India Spotlight, recognizing New Delhi as a unique force shaping the continent’s balance of power. India is no longer a peripheral participant in Asian geopolitics it’s now a central pillar of influence in a region undergoing seismic change.
Recognition Earned, Not Gifted
The Asia Power Index 2025 evaluates 27 nations across eight dimensions economic capability, military capacity, resilience, future resources, defense networks, diplomatic influence, economic relationships, and cultural influence.
India’s overall score of 40.0 marks not just improvement but structural transformation. The Lowy Institute’s analysis highlights India’s strong gains in diplomatic reach, defense partnerships, and future resources, cementing its role as a major power.
This rise hasn’t come from aggressive posturing or global alignment. It’s been achieved through strategic independence India’s ability to engage all sides without surrendering sovereignty. Whether in the Quad, BRICS, G20, or SCO, India has become the one power that every bloc wants at the table.
It’s a status earned by consistency, credibility, and confidence, not confrontation.
The Diplomatic Engine of the Global South
At the heart of India’s new influence is its diplomatic agility. From championing debt relief for developing economies to steering consensus at the G20, India has positioned itself as the voice of the Global South an intermediary between aspiration and authority.
This unique position has amplified its relevance far beyond Asia. In an era where China’s assertiveness often provokes resistance and Western leadership faces fatigue, India’s steady, inclusive diplomacy offers something rare trust.
The Asia Power Index’s data reflects this: India ranks among the top in diplomatic influence, reflecting how deftly it has balanced relations with the U.S., Russia, ASEAN, Africa, and Europe while maintaining an independent course on major global crises.
Soft Power: India’s Quiet Strength
While military and economic capabilities dominate global rankings, the 2025 Index shows something subtler India’s soft power advantage.
Indian cinema, digital technology, and democratic values continue to shape perceptions worldwide. India’s diaspora the world’s largest acts as a bridge of innovation and cultural trust, from Silicon Valley to Singapore. The country’s humanitarian leadership, visible in vaccine diplomacy and digital cooperation, has enhanced its reputation as a responsible global citizen.
This influence isn’t loud it’s earned through empathy, the kind of credibility that can’t be measured in GDP or missile counts.
Domestic Reform: The Foundation of Power
India’s international credibility is only as strong as its domestic stability and on that front, progress is visible. Over the past decade, sustained efforts in digital governance, infrastructure development, and industrial diversification have deepened the country’s resilience.
Programs like Digital India, PM Gati Shakti, and Make in India have enhanced India’s manufacturing capacity, while public digital infrastructure such as Aadhaar and UPI has become a global model for inclusive innovation.
These structural changes have also reinforced India’s resilience index, as recognized by Lowy, marking the country as one of the few large democracies able to absorb shocks while maintaining growth momentum.
Still, challenges persist. Economic inequality, uneven education quality, and environmental stress remain unresolved. But the narrative has shifted India is now seen as a nation that confronts its weaknesses instead of being defined by them.
Power in an Age of Division
The geopolitical context makes India’s rise even more significant. With the United States and China locked in strategic rivalry, Russia adjusting to sanctions, and smaller nations balancing dependencies, Asia’s stability increasingly hinges on India’s behavior.
Unlike the old binary of Cold War alignments, India’s multi-alignment strategy has allowed it to work with all, without becoming captive to any. This policy of “strategic autonomy”, once viewed as hesitation, is now widely seen as foresight.
The 2025 Index confirms what observers have sensed for years India has become Asia’s stabilizing power, not its swing vote.
The Reality Check: Power Must Deliver
Even amid celebration, realism is necessary. India’s ascent in rankings is remarkable, but true leadership depends on outcomes in innovation, military modernization, and governance capacity.
Research and development investment remains modest compared to peers. Bureaucratic inefficiencies continue to slow execution, and public institutions often lag behind private innovation. Bridging this implementation gap is critical if India wants to translate visibility into viability as a global power.
That said, India’s democracy gives it one priceless advantage: renewal through accountability. Where others impose change through force, India evolves through debate.
A Nation That Shapes, Not Shadows
The Lowy Institute’s “India Spotlight” isn’t just about metrics it’s an acknowledgment of momentum. India’s diplomacy, demographics, and democratic strength are converging to redefine Asia’s balance of influence.
India today isn’t merely participating in global systems; it’s helping shape them from digital frameworks and climate finance to global health and trade governance.
The Asia Power Index 2025 doesn’t just recognize India’s ascent it validates a generational shift in world order, one where New Delhi’s choices ripple far beyond its borders.
A Power with Purpose
India’s greatest success is that its rise inspires optimism, not anxiety. Its power doesn’t threaten it reassures. As the Asia Power Index 2025 makes clear, the world increasingly looks to India not just for balance, but for belief belief in democracy, diversity, and development coexisting.
From being seen as a “potential power,” India has evolved into a reliable one. The task ahead is not just to grow stronger, but to grow steadier proving that in a fragmented world, principled power still has a place.
That, perhaps, is the real story of India’s coming of age.
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Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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