The future of Indian economy: Should it play the power game or values game?

India must decide what it wants to be - a country admired for its soft power and market, or an arbitrary state that can do what it wills with both individuals and businesses - writes T N Ninan

As was noted in this column last week, India is currently in a sweet spot on the international stage. Having become the fifth-largest economy by overtaking the UK, it can realistically look forward to overtaking Germany (now only 16 per cent bigger than India) and Japan (24 per cent bigger) in well under a decade. All that the country has to do is avoid major blunders and maintain its tempo. That brings a new urgency to the question: Are the country’s other characteristics, including its institutional scaffolding, what the world’s third-largest economy should ideally possess?

For an answer, consider the