India has officially crossed a key strategic threshold, achieving “major power” status in the Asia Power Index 2025, according to the Australia-based Lowy Institute. The milestone reflects India’s expanding economic strength, rising military capability, and enhanced geopolitical relevance—factors that together lifted its comprehensive power score from 38.1 in 2024 to 40 points in 2025, enabling the shift from the middle-power category into the major-power grouping.

The Asia Power Index, published annually, evaluates the relative power of countries across the Indo-Pacific by measuring both their resources and the influence they exert across eight thematic indicators, including economic capability, military strength, diplomacy, defence networks, and technological capacity. In the 2025 rankings, India stands third overall, behind only the United States and China. Japan, which India overtook in key areas, ranks fourth with a score of 38.8.

Economic and Resource Strength

The Lowy Institute highlights that India’s power gains come primarily from strong performance in economic capabilityand future resources, where it ranks third in Asia. India has also surpassed Japan in the economic capability metric, driven by sustained GDP growth and increasing integration into global value chains.

A notable shift has occurred in global capital flows:
India has now overtaken China to become the second-largest destination for inward investment after the United States, measured through 10-year cumulative inflows. This surge reflects both strategic diversification of supply chains away from China and India’s growing appeal as a business and manufacturing hub.

India also climbed to ninth place in economic relationships, helped by increased foreign investment and expanding trade engagement across the region.

Military Capability and Operation Sindoor

India’s rise in military capability is another significant factor behind its improved status. According to the Lowy Institute, India’s military score strengthened largely due to upgraded expert appraisals, influenced heavily by the country’s performance in Operation Sindoor, launched in May 2025. This operation added to India’s recent combat experience and appears to have shifted global perceptions of India’s operational readiness and defence competence.

The report notes that India’s military capabilities have shown steady improvement, contributing to its elevated ranking and reinforcing its role as a leading security actor in the Indo-Pacific.

Gaps Between Ambition and Influence

Despite these gains, the Lowy Institute underscores critical gaps between India’s aspirations and its actual regional influence. The most prominent shortfall lies in defence networks, where India ranks a low 11th, slipping two places from the previous edition. It was overtaken by the Philippines and Thailand, reflecting limited growth in its military partnerships and alliances when compared to other regional actors.

Diplomatic influence also lags behind India’s material capabilities. These shortcomings widen what the index calls the Power Gap—the difference between a country’s expected power based on its resources and its realised power as measured through actual outcomes. India’s Power Gap remains large, suggesting that while India has the tools of a major power, it has yet to deploy them effectively across diplomatic and defence platforms.

Growing Geopolitical Relevance

Even with these challenges, India’s overall geopolitical relevance has increased. The country made modest gains in connectivity, international leverage, and technology, reinforcing its role in regional decision-making and partnerships. The continued expansion of India’s economic and military capacities—combined with global trends such as supply-chain diversification—has helped cement its position as a key player shaping the Asian strategic landscape.

A Milestone with More Ground to Cover

India’s ascension to major-power status marks an important moment, affirming its growing weight in an Indo-Pacific that is becoming more multipolar and competitive. But the Lowy Institute’s findings also highlight that India must deepen its diplomatic and defence ties, strengthen regional relationships, and translate its resources into consistent influence if it is to match China’s reach or sustain its newly earned status.

The 2025 Asia Power Index presents a dual message: India has made decisive gains rooted in economic dynamism and improving military effectiveness, yet the next phase of its rise depends on expanding strategic partnerships and projecting influence more broadly across the region.