Australia-based think tank, Lowy Institute, said on Friday that India achieved "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.
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".
"In 2025, India’s comprehensive power score exceeded 40 points, the threshold defined by the Asia Power Index for a “major power”. India increased the small lead it gained over Japan when it became the third ranked power in 2024. However, the large capability gap with China has only widened, a long-term challenge to the realisation of India’s vision of a multipolar world order," the report read.
In military capability, India ranks third, after the US and China. Military capability refers to conventional military strength, measured in terms of defence spending, armed forces and organisation, weapons and platforms, signature capabilities, and Asian military posture.
According to the report, India’s power in Asia continues to grow steadily but remains well below the potential of its resources.
The report stated that India's economic and military capabilities have increased in the 2025 edition of the Asia Power Index. "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 report read.
However, according to the report, India's weakest measure is defence networks, where it is placed at 11th. The score has declined since the previous edition, dropping two ranks to be overtaken by the Philippines and Thailand.
India's influence, especially in terms of diplomatic relationships and defence networks, did not improve commensurately, increasing the country’s large negative Power Gap score.
The report said India overtook China as the country attracting the most inward investment after the US, an indicator capturing ten-year cumulative flows.
"The overall picture for India that emerges from the Asia Power Index is mixed: India’s own power is increasing slowly, but gaps remain between the country’s ambition and the reality of continued limits on its influence, particularly relative to China," it read.
India saw a slight rise in diplomatic influence, standing out from other Indo-Pacific middle powers like Japan, which have faced frequent leadership changes. This progress was driven by active diplomacy, measured in terms of bilateral dialogues, and an assessment by experts that India’s diplomatic service was improving in quality.
However, the report claims that India’s ranking did not advance regarding the regional or global leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, indicating that the current diplomatic approach—emphasising multi-alignment, strategic autonomy, and engagement with the Global South—does not guarantee a swift expansion of its strategic influence.