Contemporary Centres of Power Chapter 2 Notes

Class 12 Political Science Book 1

New Centres of Power

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New centres of power mean those countries and organizations, which can become
superpowers in the future and plays a major role in the world system even in the present.

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Organizations
The European Union
ASEAN
BRICS

Countries ya
China
Japan
India
Israel
Russia

The European Union

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The countries of Europe suffered the most in the Second World War. therefore, after
the Second World War, the countries of Europe tried to improve their situation.
America helped European countries in this reform process.

Formation of the European Union

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Marshal plan

In 1948, the Marshall Plan was made by the US, under which the European Economic
Community was established.
The European Council was formed in 1949.
The European Economic Community was established in 1957.
The European Union was established in 1992

European Union ‘s objectives

rapid economic growth

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 mutual support
goods foreign policy

Features of the European Union

as an organization

economic and political

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giant nation state

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Your flag , anthem , foundation day (9th May) and currency (Euro).

Note:- In 2003 the European Union tried to make its own constitution but it could not
succeed.

Flag of the european union

The European flag is a symbol of the European Union
It has a circle of 12 golden stars on blue
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It shows unity and solidarity among the people of Europe.

Features of the European Union

economic features

World’s largest economy in 2005

threat to euro dollar
Gross domestic product more than 12000 billion dollars
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The US has three times the share of world trade

Military features

second largest army in the world

Two members Britain and France have nuclear weapons
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Two members Britain and France have permanent membership and veto of the
Security Council of the United Nations.

Note:- Britain left the European Union on 31 January 2020.

ASEAN
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations
आसियान दक्षिण पूर्व एशियाई राष्ट्रों का संगठन
Established in 1967 it was established by signing the
Bangkok Declaration.

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 Founding countries Indonesia , Malaysia , Philippines
, Singapore , Thailand
Later countries included Brunei , Vietnam , Laos , Myanmar ,
Cambodia

ASEAN Flag
10 paddy earrings were shown in the middle, which shows the unity of the ASEAN

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countries.

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Blue represents peace and stability.
Red represents courage and dynamism .
white shows purity
Yellow is a symbol of prosperity.

ASEAN ‘s objectives
promote social and cultural development
accelerate economic growth
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improve law and order
promote peace

Three Pillars of ASEAN

Keeping in mind the overall development by ASEAN, three institutions were created in 2003,
these are called the three pillars of ASEAN.

ASEAN Security Community

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ASEAN Economic Community
ASEAN Social and Cultural Community

Three Pillars of ASEAN

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ASEAN Security Community

Work

resolving disputes between member states

Promote peace and cooperation.

ASEAN Economic Community

Work

promote common trade

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 increase free trade
settling economic disputes

ASEAN Social and Cultural Community

Work

Raising the level of social and cultural development

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ASEAN Vision 2020
ASEAN Vision 2020 is a list of goals set by ASEAN for 2020.
By 2020, ASEAN wants to play an external role in the world.
Resolving all mutual disputes through dialogue is also the main point of ASEAN Vision
2020.

ASEAN Style
ASEAN’s way of developing is called the ASEAN Style
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It set a new example in front of the world by developing through cooperation and
reconciliation.
This method of cooperative and conflict-free development was called the ASEAN Style.
In this way, ASEAN became the fastest growing organization.

India and ASEAN

Initially, India did not pay much attention to ASEAN, but in later times, India made
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efforts to improve relations with ASEAN countries and increase trade.
In 1991, the policy of Walk East was adopted by India and efforts were made to improve
relations with East Asian countries.
India has signed a free trade agreement with two ASEAN countries Singapore and
Thailand.
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Simultaneously, India is also trying to make a free trade agreement with ASEAN.

China

China’s early
China was established on 1 October 1949.
China isolates itself from the whole world
Beginning China developed big industries under the control of the government
Due to the lack of foreign exchange, it was difficult to get technology and goods from
abroad, so tried to produce everything from China inside the country.

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 Opening up The Economy
Instead of suddenly opening its economy, China changed the economy according to the
plan.
China made relations with America for the first time in 1972.
A year later, i.e. in 1973, the then Chinese Prime Minister Chou En Lai proposed
development in agriculture , industry , army and development and technology.

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In 1978, Prime Minister Deng Xiopeng announced the Open Door Policy.

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After Opening the Economy
Farming was privatized in 1982
Industries were privatized in 1988
SEZ ie SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE was established
Joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
This process is called the rise of China.

Consequences of China’s new economic policies

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economy picks up
Due to the privatization of agriculture, the income of the farmers has increased.
Foreign investment in China increased
The amount of foreign exchange increased and China started investing in other
countries.
China emerged as an economic power in the world
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India and China relations

Issues

In 1962, there was a war between China and India in which India lost.
Border dispute between Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh
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China’s occupation of Tibet

Granting asylum to Dalai Lama by India

effort and improvement

Panchsheel Agreement
Negotiations started in 1981 to settle the border dispute
In 1988, Rajiv Gandhi visited China and there was some improvement in relations.
Economic cooperation increased and trade also increased.

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 What is BRICS?
BRICS is an organization created to enhance business, politics and cultural cooperation
among the 5 countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
After the joining of South Africa in BRICS.

Reasons for the creation of BRICS:-

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At present, almost all the major organizations present in the world, such as the World

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Bank or the IMF, are influenced by the US and other western countries.
For this reason, an organization was created through which the emerging economies of
the world could be brought together and cooperation could be established between
them.
This was done because in future all these economies can compete with the developed
countries and that is why it is very important for them to come together.

Formation of BRICS
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At the time of formation, the name of this organization was BRIC, which was formed
from the initials of the names of its member countries, after joining the organization of
South Africa in 2010, it became BRICS.
BRIC was launched in Russia in 2006
The creation of BRIC was suggested by Jim O Neil, a UK economist.
Discussions about it began in Russia in 2006.
It was formed in 2009
At the time of formation it consisted of 4 countries and was called BRIC.
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In 2010 South Africa also joined BRIC and it became BRICS.

Member
Brazil
Russia
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India
China
South Africa
the headquarters
is in Shanghai (China)

Objectives of BRICS
Promote demand for reform of the UNO’s Security Council
Cooperate on trade and climate change issues
Simplifying import and export

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 Accelerating the pace of development through mutual cooperation
establish mutual political cooperation
ensure each other’s safety
Strive to work together to solve shared challenges

BRICS conference
Its first conference took place on 16 June 2009 in Yakitin (Russia).

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4 countries participated in this conference because South Africa was not a member of

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BRICS at that time
The second conference was held in Brazil on 15 April 2010 and during the same
conference South Africa was also included in BRICS.
The third BRICS summit was held in China on 14 April 2011 in which its name was
changed from BRIC to BRICS.
Now its conference is proposed in Russia in 2020

NDB (New Development Bank) New Development Bank

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All the countries of BRICS together formed a bank in 2014 which was named NDB Bank.

Formation of NDB Bank: –

India suggested to make BRICS countries a bank

Which was formed by these countries in 2014 and named as NDB i.e. New
Development Bank.
Its headquarter is in Shanghai
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The regional office is in South Africa
Presently its chairman is KV Kamath and it is an Indian
The total capital of this bank is $100 billion, of which $41 billion is from China, $18
billion is from India, Brazil and Russia and $5 billion is from South Africa.

Functions of NDB Bank

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This bank gives loan to member countries on easy installments

Provides economic suggestions to member countries
Helps member countries acquire technology

Features of BRICS

About 40% of the world’s population lives in the BRICS countries

The main two countries with the largest population in the world, India and China are
included in BRICS.
Russia is the largest country in the world by area and is a member of BRICS.
All countries except Russia are developing

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 India and China emerging as emerging power
It is estimated that by 2030 this group will overtake the US
Its GDP is about 23% of the whole world
About 27% of the area of ​the whole world comes under the countries of this
organization.

Current status of BRICS

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If we see in the present situation, BRICS could not be completely successful in carrying

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out its tasks, it is because there are some mutual differences between the countries of
BRICS such as

India and China dispute

China to build a road on the border of PoK

China’s intervention on Nepal and India border

Israel
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Creation of Israel
Israel became a separate country on 14 May 1948 after separating from Palestine.
It is the only Jewish country in the world
After independence, the biggest problem for it was the Muslim countries around it.
Egypt , Syria , Iraq , and Jordan attacked it soon after its independence .
This was the beginning of the Arab Israel War which lasted from 1948 to 1949.
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In this Israel won and captured a large area

June 1967 ( Six Day War )

In 1967, the countries around Israel, Jordan , and other Arab countries attacked it
together.
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Like the previous war, in this war also Israel defeated all of them very easily within just
6 days, that is why it is also called Six Day War.
In this war Israel also captured the Gaza Strip and increased its area by almost 3 times.

Geographical Features of Israel

Around it , there are Muslim countries like Lebanon , Syria , Jordan , and Egypt.
Total Area 22145 Sq. Kilometers
Population approx 85 lakh
located in southwest asia
A Jewish person born anywhere in the world is a citizen of Israel

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 Political Features
The national language here is Hebrew
The capital of Israel is Jerusalem
The president is Raven Rivlin
Prime Minister is Benjamin Netanyahu
Here too there is a system of parliamentary democracy like in India.

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Military Features

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Israel is the eighth largest country in the world based on military strength
Its army has about 35 lakh soldiers and women are also included in the army in Israel.
Army training is given to all school students.
Israel is far ahead in military technology compared to other countries
In Israel, it is mandatory for boys to serve in the army for at least 3 years and for girls
for 2 years.
It is not capable of all military weapons but also exports them on a large scale.
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Economic Features
Israel ranks 21st in the world on the basis of GDP
Israel is ahead of developed countries in the field of science and technology
Israel is ahead of its size in terms of trade
Israel’s main task is to develop innovative technologies and export them to the world.

Russia
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Russia’s early
After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the Soviet Union was formed by merging 15
republican states.
Russia was also one of these 15 republic states.
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Russia was the largest republic among these 15 republics.

Russia was part of the USSR from 1917 to 1991
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia became a country and it was
made the successor of the Soviet Union, that is, all the rights that were with the Soviet
Union were given to Russia.
such as nuclear weapons
Permanent Membership in the Security Council of the UNO
Russia had to abide by all the treaties that were made between the Soviet Union
and America.

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 Geographical Feature of Russia
Russia is a country in North Asia
Russia is the largest country in the world
Some part of it comes inside the continent of Asia and some of it comes inside Eastern
Europe.
In terms of size, it has grown almost 5 times more than India.

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Russia ranks seventh in the world by population

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Political Features of Russia
Russia is a democratic country
The capital of Russia is Moscow and its national language is Russian.
The president here is Vladimir Putin
The prime minister here is Mikhail Mishustin.
Here too, like other countries, elections are held normally and leaders are elected.

Economic Features of Russia

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Even though Russia is a big country in terms of size, Russia is not advanced in terms of
economic development.
Russia ranks 11th by GDP
Russia has abundant mineral resources, natural resources and gas reserves.
It is because of these resources that Russia is established as a strong country in the
world, but if compared with America economically, Russia lags far behind.
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Russian Military Features
Russia is one of the most powerful countries in the world in terms of arms
nuclear weapon
Permanent Membership of the Security Council of the UNO
Russia ranks second in the world in terms of military capability
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Russia gives equal competition to America in military field

Russia and India Relations

Relations between India and communist countries have been good since the beginning.
Russia has been helping India from the very beginning.
Both dream of a multipolar world
Both countries believe in democracy
80 bilateral agreements between India and Russia in 2001
india russian arms buyer
Import of oil from Russia into India

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 Russia’s help in scientific plans
Russia’s support to India on Kashmir issue

Japan

Japan and World War II

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Japan was one of the Axis powers in World War II
At the end of World War II, in 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.

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These bombs were dropped on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the
names of these bombs were Little Boy and Fat Man.
These bombs caused great destruction in Japan and Japan surrendered in World War
II.
After this the development of the Japanese economy started and today Japan is one of
the few main countries of the world.

Geographical Features of Japan

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Japan is a country in East Asia
Japan ranks 63rd in the world in terms of area
It is ranked 11th in the world by population
Most of Japan is surrounded by hills and forests
Japan is affected by most of the natural disasters in the world such as earthquake,
tsunami etc.

Political Features of Japan

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There is a constitutional monarchy in Japan, that is, there is a king and also a
democracy.
The current king of Japan is Naruhito
The political head of Japan is the Prime Minister here.
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The current Prime Minister of Japan is Shinzo Abe

The national language here is Japanese

Economic characteristics of Japan

Japan is the country with the most cutting-edge technology in the world
It is ranked third in the world by GDP
All kinds of products are exported by Japan
Despite being surrounded by so many disasters, Japan is far ahead of other countries in
the field of development.

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 Military Features of japan
Japan’s army is the fourth most powerful army in the world
Japan ranks fourth in the world in terms of military expenditure.
High quality technology is the main feature of the Japanese military
Japan is one of the largest countries in the world in terms of military strength
Like every region, Japan is also situated among the world’s big countries in military

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power.

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India

India’s opening round

British India was partitioned on 15 August 1947 and British India was mainly divided
into 2 countries, the first was India and the second was Pakistan.
The part which came in the territory of India also had two different parts, the first was
India and the second was the native princely states.
With independence, the biggest challenge before India was to include these indigenous
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princely states in India.
In course of time almost all the native princely states joined India and thus India was
formed.

India and China

Panchsheel Agreement
Panchsheel Agreement was signed between India and China in 1954.
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There were 5 principles in this agreement
respect for each other’s integrity and sovereignty
mutual non-aggression
not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs
equitable and mutually beneficial relationship
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peaceful coexistence

Tibet’s problem
Tibet is a small country located between India and China. China has been asserting its
authority over Tibet from the beginning, but India’s belief was just the opposite.
On 24 April 1954, India accepted China’s right over Tibet with some conditions and
China promised that Tibet would be given more autonomy but it did not happen.
An armed rebellion started in Tibet against the Chinese rule. This rebellion was
suppressed by the Chinese forces.

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 Seeing the situation deteriorating, Tibetan religious leader Dalai Lama sought asylum
from India in 1959 and India gave asylum to the Dalai Lama.
China called this move interference in its internal affairs and strongly opposed this
move.

India and China border dispute

The border dispute between India and China was over Aksai Chin in Jammu and

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Kashmir and NEFA area of ​Arunachal Pradesh.

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China expressed its right over these parts of India and India said that this matter has
been resolved at the time of British but China denied this.
Between 1957 and 1959, China occupied parts of Aksai’s China and started building
roads there.
A lot of discussions took place between the leaders of both the countries but the
problem could not be resolved. Many times there were skirmishes between the armies
of both the countries but no solution was found.
Due to Panchsheel agreement and trust in China, Nehru never felt that China could
attack India, but this time Nehru was proved wrong and in 1962 China attacked India.
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China attacked India in 1962. Due to this sudden attack, India did not get any chance to
prepare and the Chinese army came deep into India. In the end, a sudden ceasefire was
declared by China and India had to face defeat in this war.

Results of War
India lost
Indian foreign policy criticized
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Many senior military commanders resigned
Defense Minister VK Krishna Menon quits the cabinet
For the first time a no-confidence letter was brought against the government
The Communist Party of India was divided
Nehru’s image was damaged.
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War between India and Pakistan

1947 (Kashmir dispute)

War started between India and Pakistan soon after independence

The main reason for this war was Kashmir.
India won this war
In this war, some part of Jammu and Kashmir was occupied by Pakistan, which
India calls POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) and Pakistan is called Azad Kashmir.

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 1965 (river water sharing)

India’s problems did not end after the 1962 China War
In 1965 , a war broke out between India and Pakistan over the problem of water
division.
In the end, India defeated Pakistan very comfortably.

1971 (Bangladesh)

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1971 East Pakistan problem caused war between India and Pakistan

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The war ended with the victory of India , the independence of East Pakistan and the
creation of a new country, Bangladesh.

1999 (Kargil War)

In 1999, it was due to infiltration and deployment of army in the Kargil area by
Pakistan. Operation Vijay was launched by India to drive out the intruders and in this
60-day long war, India completely destroyed Pakistan’s army.
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Geographical Features of India
India is a developing country in South Asia
world’s seventh largest country
Second largest country in the world by population
Surrounded by the Indian Ocean in the south, the Arabian Sea in the east and the Bay
of Bengal in the west
Largest cultural and religious diversity in the world
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Political Features of India
world’s largest democratic country
parliamentary system of government
federal government system
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Current Prime Minister – Narendra Modi

Current President – Ram Nath Kovind

Economic Characteristics of India

After independence, India adopted the model of mixed development in which equal
importance was given to the public and private sector.
India’s growth rate was normal from 1947 to 1991
In 1991, India adopted LPG by making major economic changes.
This is where India’s development got a boost.
The pace of India’s development accelerated since 1991

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 India is currently the fifth largest economy in the world
The world’s largest software exporting country is

Military Features of India

India comes in the first five countries of the world according to military capability
India ranks second in the world according to the number of soldiers
nuclear weapon country

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Contribution to the UNO Peacekeeping Force

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High quality weapons and trained soldiers are the main features of the Indian Army.

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