India is viewed as a potential rising power that could counterbalance China’s increasing aggression and challenge the existing global order. While there is a lot of speculation in the media about India replacing China, experts caution that the reality is more nuanced. India needs to identify and cultivate its own strengths and unique trajectory of growth to achieve global emergence and highlight its contributions to the changing world order. India’s resilience is more attractive to the world than China’s resentment and offers a very different choice in economy, security, and polity. India has advantages, such as geopolitical factors and a young population, that could make it an attractive alternative to China as a manufacturing platform. However, India faces challenges, such as a skilled labor force shortage, lack of women in the workforce, and inadequate infrastructure development. India’s economic emergence could be driven by digitalization and data-centric economies, making it a potential regional and global power in data and a leader in the emerging world. India needs to implement second-generation microeconomic reforms to increase efficiency and competitiveness.