(The author is Michael Dingman Chair in Global Strategy & Entrepreneurship, Smith School of Business, University of Maryland)

Within two decades or less, a rapidly rising India will very likely become the world's third largest economy - after China and the US. It would be appropriate to start speculating now on what kind of a superpower India will be or could be when it becomes one.Complex adaptive systems cannot change their stripes once they have evolved. How a system evolves determines its end-state. In short, how India becomes a superpower will predefine its structure, its mindset and its behaviour.First, India's emergence as a superpower will show that it is possible to lift millions of people out of poverty within one generation while embracing pluralism, a free press and a vibrant multiparty democracy. Most analysts predict that, over the next two decades, India's GDP will grow at a faster pace than China's. As the world's fastest-growing large economy on a sustained basis, India's rise will put to rest the idea that a command-and-control political system is the only viable route to rapid economic growth and that democracy is somehow antithetical to rapid economic growth.Second, India has the potential to serve as a leading example of how to combine rapid economic growth with fairness towards and inclusion of those at the bottom rungs of the ladder. In a democratic system such as India's where even the poorest people exercise their political rights actively, fairness and inclusion will be even more critical for social stability than in China. As it becomes a great power, these values will likely become an enduring part of the country's DNA.Third, the prospects are high that, by 2025, India will likely emerge as one of the world's least corrupt developing economies. While widespread corruption is a reality in almost all developing economies (as well as some of the developed ones), India is one of the very few developing economies with a free press that continues to be vigilant and merciless in exposing the corruption. It is very likely that a vigilant and free press will ensure that the likelihood of getting away with corruption will decline rapidly - with salutary deterrent effects.Fourth, India will likely emerge as one of the world's leaders in leveraging information technology (IT) to boost the effectiveness and efficiency of its institutions - the corporations, the government and as well as civil society organisations. As 3G and 4G wireless connectivity becomes widespread over the next five years, it is a near-certainty that we'll see a rapid diffusion of low-cost tablet computers along with free or near-free applications aimed at self-learning, mobile banking as well as commercial productivity. India in 2025 could well emerge as one of the world's most connected and IT-savvy societies.Fifth, India will almost certainly become a leading example of efficient resource utilisation, especially in energy. India relies on imports for a bigger proportion of its oil & gas needs than any other large emerging economy. The situation is likely to get worse, with sustained growth. The consequences are clear. One possible outcome is that India hits a resource-scarcity wall and economic growth comes to a screeching halt.An alternative scenario is that the country's industry, government and consumers will respond vigorously to the imperative for ever-greater resource efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources. Given the ambitions and ingenuity of its people, I am inclined to bet on the latter scenario. In the process, efficient resource utilisation is likely to become an embedded part of the country's psyche and behaviour.Sixth, India is likely to emerge as one of the world's leaders in market-driven innovation. Adversity combined with ingenuity has always been the mother of innovation. Think of how Japan emerged as the world's leader in lean manufacturing. Given very high population density and thus scarcity of land, companies such as Toyota could not afford to build Detroit-style automobile plants.In response, what Toyota did was to invent just-in-time inventory management, total quality management, long-term partnerships with suppliers and other complementary processes that enabled the near-complete elimination of wasteful space.Think now about the fact that even as India grows to become the world's third largest economy, it will still be one of the world's poorest countries (in per capita terms) for the next two to three decades. Low income levels will continue to provide a very large opportunity to India's entrepreneurs to emerge as the world's leaders in frugal innovation i.e., the design, production, and delivery of products and services that are ultra low-cost. Virtually all of this innovation will be market- rather than technology-driven and is likely to become an integral part of the country's corporate DNA.Last but not least, India in 2025 is also likely to emerge as one of the world's most entrepreneurial societies. Given a culture of individualism, Indians are "born" entrepreneurs. They also benefit from the fact that, relative to China, India's economy depends far more on pure private sector enterprises than on state-led ones. These entrepreneurs will not only serve as the engines for the country's rapid economic growth but will also benefit from the vast new opportunities that a larger economy will open up for them - domestically within India as well as globally.India will not emerge as a superpower unless it is smart about managing the evolutionary process of getting from here to there. The seeds for the tree that India as a superpower will be are being planted right now.