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| INDIA’S international influence has waned in the past six months due to governance deficit and corruption. A study by Global Intelligence Review, an independent Mumbai-based think tank, has placed India at the fourth place in the bi-annual Geopolitical Power Index (GPI) for the second half of 2011, down one notch from the January to June period. The survey said the operation to eliminate top al-Qaeda terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, underscoring Washington’s ability to project hard power across geographies, the US remained the most influential nation on the index. India’s image suffered a jolt due to the Union government’s timid foreign-policy leadership and ineffective counterterrorism strategy. In contrast, Britain and France continue to punch well above their geopolitical weight with proactive strategies in West Asia and in global financial institutions such as the IMF, the review said. India’s aggregate score is 64 for the second half of 2011 on GPI, behind top-ranked US (80 points on a maximum of 110) and China (72). Britain (65) has moved up a slot to gain the third spot with France (63) retaining the fifth rank. The survey uses a mathematical model to analyse 11 parameters ranging from economy and governance to military and innovation. It measures both the ability and potential of the world’s ten most important countries, dubbed G10, to project hard and soft powers globally. The countries are selected on the basis of their global economic, military and cultural influence. They are ranked on a scale of 0-10 across eleven key criteria which constitute the ingredients of geopolitical power. “Each criterion is based on five quantitative and qualitative sub-parameters with statistical weightage. These 55 subparameters and sub-indices with their specific weightage are analysed drawing upon a range of databases for reaching to the total score,” said Minhaz Merchant, chief of the Global Intelligence Review. The survey has outlined that India did poorly on governance with a score of 3(+), down one point from the first half of 2011. The report said governance deficit had dented India’s international image with foreign investment inflows displaying volatility due to policy ambiguities and moderation in GDP growth. However, the review indicates a positive future trend line. |