The article considers India as the most important factor in the development of the world economy in the era of transition from a unipolar world to a multipolar one. The rapid growth of its economy, the introduction and development of IT technologies, innovative approaches in a number of industries, effective management bring the Indian economy to third place in the world after the United States and China. This forms a new structure of the world economy and international economic relations in a multipolar world. Article is devoted to the analysis of the development of the Indian economy, the role of its foreign trade and its restructuring and adaptation to new conditions in the era of the end of American hegemony and opposition to the Western world. The article uses methods of statistical and graphical analysis of GDP, export, import, indicators of innovation activity. On the statistical data for 1980-2020, a regression of GDP on the volume of exports is built, showing the linear relationship of India’s GDP with the volume of exports, which is significantly different from a similar model for China. The commodity structure of India's exports and imports, the circle of countries - the most important partners in the export and import of India are considered. India's foreign trade relations with the United States and Russia are particularly investigated. India has a negative trade balance, and this can serve as an impetus for the development of export industries and the search for appropriate partner countries in need of Indian products. The prospects and potential for the development of the Indian economy in the future, its innovative opportunities and investments in R&D, cooperation with other non-Western countries, as well as the problems of social stratification, poverty, child mortality are discussed. The authors are in favor of strengthening economic and political ties between Russia, India, China, and other BRICS countries through the creation of their own financial institutions, the implementation of common investment projects, primarily infrastructure, the serious development of mutually beneficial foreign trade relations, as a means of optimizing the structure and efficiency of the national economy of countries in the context of US sanctions and various kinds of restrictions and wars between Russia and NATO countries. The need to invest more in the development of fundamental and applied science is emphasized. It is in this area that competition between countries and blocs around the world will intensify. The article is intended for government bodies, researchers, students.