India is set to rise as an economic superpower, helped in part by its growing young population, according to Deloitte's Voice of Asia report.
India will be supplying more than half of the increase in Asia's potential workforce over the coming decade.
Asia's over 65s are the largest and fastest growing market in the world, providing a target-rich environment of business opportunities, according to Deloitte, who on Monday released the third edition of its Voice of Asia series.
In contrast, India's potential workforce is set to rise from 885 million people now to 1.08 billion people in the next twenty years, and it will remain above a billion people for half a century.
Following the rise of Japan and then China in decades past, India will drive the third great wave of Asia's growth, the report said.
"India will account for more than half of the increase in Asia's workforce in the coming decade...these new workers will be much better trained and educated than the existing Indian workforce, and there will be rising economic potential coming alongside that, thanks to an increased share of women in the workforce, as well as an increased ability and interest in working for longer," said Anis Chakravarty, Deloitte India Economist in the report.
Meanwhile, other Asian economies such as Indonesia and the Philippines, which have relatively young populations, will experience similar growth.
However, India's growth story isn't guaranteed as it needs the right institutional set-up to promote and sustain its growth, otherwise its rising population could cause increasing unemployment and consequent social unrest, the report said.
Deloitte names the countries that face the biggest challenges from the impact of ageing on growth as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand.
"As China's population is ten times that of Japan, and given that China doesn't yet have a sound social security system, there's a chance that ageing could lead to a lower saving rate and a higher inflation rate, declining growth, a worsening government budget deficit, and pressure on its property and financial markets," notes Sitao Xu, Deloitte China Economist, notes.
