. It has been claimed that various trends will make the 21st century an Asian Century. 

 India has been identified as an potential superpower . It is also often referred as South Asia's natural hegemon because of its overwhelming dominance of the region in all aspects – political, economic, military, cultural, and demographic. India contributes 77% of South Asia's population, 75% of its GDP, 77 percent of its territory, 80% of its defence budget, and 82% of its armed forces. India is the world's most populous democracy. It has the largest economy in the region, and has impressive GDP growth which sits today at 9.2%India's Economic Growth Unexpectedly Quickens to 9.2% According to political analyst C. Raja Mohan: 
 "India's omnidirectional engagement with the great powers has paid off handsomely. Never before has India had such expansive relations with all the major powers at the same time—a result not only of India's increasing weight in the global economy and its growing power potential, but also of New Delhi's savvy and persistent diplomacy." www.realclearpolitics.com  

 With the largest defence budget in the region, India possesses nuclear weapons, intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and is the only South Asian country with an aircraft carrier. It has successfully developed a Ballistic Missile Defense system, becoming only the fourth country to do so. In 2007, India became the fourth nation in the world  to complete atmospheric reentry for Manned Space Mission, an indication of its recent scientific progress.Hindustan Times Giant step in space as capsule returns 

 ==References== 

  
 Category:21st century 
 Category:21st century in India 

 id:Abad India