India: a land of high human capital, rich culture and growing economy. Yet, as the subject claims, is it a growing superpower? This newspaper firmly believes that India is a rising superpower and will, in just a few years, overtake the United States and China. In this essay, I will explore the relevance of the above statement and assess its validity. The main argument of this essay centers on the society and economy of India. The Indian economy is growing strongly and at an extremely rapid pace. However, it is still a developing country, due to widespread poverty. In India, 11.8% of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day. This is what is shown below. As the map shows, we can see a high level of poverty in the North and North West. This is further confirmed by the fact that one of the poorest provinces of India, Bihar, is located on the northern border of Nepal. 81.4% of the population of this province lives in critical poverty. However, we also see a strong middle class of educated workers. In fact, India's middle class is equal in size to the entire US population (250 million by 2015). But how can this be so, when such a large part of their population lives below the poverty line? A mix of rapid urbanization and a growing workforce can provide answers to the rapid growth of the economy and the middle class. Half of India's population is below the age of 25 and around 12-15 million workers are added to its labor sector every year. People living in poverty find jobs, which leads to a larger middle class and a more educated society. Of course, this complements the growth of the economy and, in turn, boosts India on the path to becoming a superpower. In summary, the...... middle of paper ......line] Available at: http:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_India [Accessed May 20. 2014].Wikipedia, (2014). Potential superpowers. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_superpowers [Accessed May 21. 2014].Wikipedia, (2014). Superpower. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpower [Accessed May 21. 2014].Mapsofindia.com, (2014). India poverty map. [online] Available at: http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/poverty.html [Accessed May 26. 2014], The Guardian, (2013). India Trade: Complete list of exports, imports and partner countries. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/feb/22/cameron-india-trade-exports-imports-partners [Accessed May 26. 2014].Wikipedia, (2014). Poverty in India. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India [Accessed May 26. 2014].