Dikhyaa Mohanty 
India is the fourth most powerful country in Asia, as per the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021 as per the annual Asia Power Index which was launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018.
According to the reports, the project maps out the existing distribution of power as it stands today, and tracks shifts in the balance of power over time. Its overall score declined by two points compared to 2020.
Further the report added that India is one of eighteen countries in the region to trend downward in its overall score in 2021.
India finishes in 4th place in four other measures: economic capability, military capability, resilience and cultural influence. India is trending in opposite directions for its two weakest measures of power. Further it remains in 7th place in its defence networks, reflecting progress in its regional defence diplomacy notably with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which includes Australia, Japan and the US.
Further India has slipped into 8th position for economic relationships, as it falls further behind in regional trade integration efforts. India exerts less influence in the region than expected given its available resources, as indicated by the country’s negative power gap score.
The top 10 countries for overall power in the Asia-Pacific region are the US, China, Japan, India, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
