New Delhi: India has reached “major power” status on the Asia Power Index-2025 on the back of economic growth and military capability based on its performance in Operation Sindoor, Australia-based think tank Lowy Institute said on Friday.
However, there are still gaps between India’s ambition and the reality of continued limits on its influence, particularly relative to China, it said.
The annual Asia Power Index measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in Asia.
India was ranked among middle powers in the Asia Power Index-2024 with a comprehensive power score of 38.1, which increased marginally to 40 points to reach the threshold of a “major power”.
India is ranked third on the index after the US (80.5 points) and China (73.7 points). Japan ranks fourth with 38.8 points.
India ranks third for two measures — economic capability and future resources. It increased its economic capability rank by one place to third, overtaking Japan.
Increases in its inward investment have seen India rise to ninth place in economic relationships.
The Lowy Institute said India’s economic and military capabilities have both increased in the 2025 edition of the Asia Power Index.
It said India’s economy has continued to grow strongly and made small gains in terms of its geopolitical relevance — defined in terms of international leverage, connectivity, and technology. India’s military capability has also improved steadily.
“For the most part, these gains were from improved expert appraisals of its capability, which were likely influenced by India’s performance in Operation Sindoor, launched in May 2025, which added to India’s recent combat experience,” the institute said.
India’s weakest measure is defence networks, where it ranks 11. Its score has declined from the previous edition, dropping two ranks to be overtaken by the Philippines and Thailand.
However, India’s influence, particularly in terms of its diplomatic relationships and defence networks, did not improve commensurately, increasing the large negative Power Gap score — an assessment of the divergence between a country’s expected power based on its resources, and its actual scores in the Asia Power Index.
According to the index, India overtook China as the country attracting the most inward investment after the United States – an indicator capturing 10-year cumulative flows.
This change is the result of geopolitical factors, with businesses seeking to diversify supply chains, as well as India’s own attractiveness as an investment destination, the institute said.
