Can India be the Asian country of the future?

[SFIntern]

Some consider India to be the Asian country of the future. India has strong potential for future growth and would be a great place to invest for the long term. Spear has recommended ETF's like EPI which have great potential from the future in his most recent edition of Spear's ETF Analyst. Here is some of what Spear's ETF Analyst had to say about India:

"Despite the negatives, one could argue that India is the Asian country of the future. The country has a relatively young population, which is likely to exceed China’s by 2030, making it the most populous country in the world. Projections suggest that over this period the country’s labor force growth rate will increase faster than the overall population (a good thing, if there are jobs) and the middle class will swell to triple its current size, at which point it will be twice as large as the entire U.S. population. Moreover, in the last few years, the country’s savings and investment rates have improved considerably. This has enabled the Indian Rupee to appreciate more than 20% against the U.S. dollar since its low in 2009..."

What are the thoughts of the community, can India surpass China?

[snafu]

India has a far better educated population and English, the language of business is readily spoken. India is far more democratic and less corrupt than China but there are serious threats and issues. The government of China can put any plan in place and carry it through to the detriment of the entire population ...that's been it's culture and it's history. China has natural resources that haven't yet been explored let alone exploited. China is seriously improving, updating, upgrading it's military. Who is it's next target?

[Frugal]

I believe that INdia could possibly surpass China, but that it would take maybe 30-50 years. India has not caught up to China yet in terms of industry and modernization, in my opinion.

[bjl584]

India doesn't have the infrastructure to be an industrial powerhouse yet. They will need to modernize their roads, electric grid, etc. to be a major world player.