BESIDES China, another economic superpower is emerging in Asia, and it deserves more attention from Filipinos looking for opportunities. That would be India, which is poised to surpass Japan and Germany as the third largest economy in the world within the decade, based on reports quoting Morgan Stanley and S&P Global.

Today, India is the fifth largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.2 trillion. Its GDP per capita is more than $2,200. That may be far less than China’s $12,000 and even smaller compared to the Americans’ $70,000. But India is growing fast, which means the spending power of Indian consumers will also increase.

China, of course, is enroute to become the world’s largest economy, with the United States falling to second place. But doing business with them has become complicated because of territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

To be clear, no country can ignore or avoid China and the US. But the Philippines should do more to diversify its trade and investment partners, as well as explore opportunities in places that do not have geopolitical baggage.

India has a huge domestic market of 1.4 billion, and its population is forecast to grow larger than China’s this year. Because it did not limit the number of children that families can have, Indians, like Filipinos, are young. The median age of Indians is a little over 28 years, which suggests that the country will continue to be productive for many decades to come.

For its part, India has been looking to build economic ties with Southeast Asia. In 1996, India became a dialogue partner of Asean, the regional bloc that is known more formally as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Two-way trade between Asean and India reached $77 billion in 2019, making that country the sixth largest trading partner of the bloc. India is also the eighth largest source of foreign direct investments among Asean dialogue partners, with inflows of about $2 billion into the region.

Unratified pact

Bilateral ties between India and the Philippines are relatively strong, but there is, as they say, room for improvement. One way to do that is to make traveling between those countries easier through direct flight connections.

About a decade ago, Philippine Airlines (PAL) flew to New Delhi, made possible by an air agreement signed in 1949. When that connection was discontinued in 2011, some businessmen commented that PAL should have flown to India’s economic hub, Mumbai, instead of its national capital.

With some airlines keen on re-establishing direct flights, the Philippines and India signed a new air agreement in 2018. Unfortunately, the Philippine Senate has yet to ratify that treaty. It should do so soon.

Like China, India can be a major source of tourists. Even without direct connections, about 1 million Indian tourists visit the Philippines every year, according to the Indian Embassy in Manila. Various sources report that India’s outbound tourists is about 7.1 million a year.

Besides direct flights, the Philippines can capture more of that market by relaxing visa requirements for Indian tourists and business travelers. India requires only an e-visa from Filipino visitors. With that, about 25,000 Filipinos fly to India yearly, according to the Indian Embassy.

India is also a major source of foreign students in the Philippines, the embassy said. That figure was estimated at about 15,000. Recently, though, it was reported that Indians with a medical degree from a Philippine university may be facing some problems because of new regulations issued by India’s medical exam regulator. The Philippine government should look into the issue to avoid losing that market.

Lastly, there is a strong Indian-Filipino community in the country that has been quietly expanding their companies for generations. Now there is also a new wave of Indians looking to do business here, mainly in pharmaceuticals, business process outsourcing, agriculture, renewable energy and others.

In short, the potential payoff from stronger bilateral relations seems high. India is increasingly looking eastward for opportunities. The Philippines should move more quickly before another country in the region catches its attention.