India@70: a passage to further great achievements
THE month of October is perhaps the most appropriate to commemorate India’s struggle for independence and pay tributes to the stalwarts that were instrumental in creating a modern India.
Starting with October 2, the birth anniversary of the “father of the nation” Mahatma Gandhi and the second prime minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri to celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Azad Hind (Free India) government by Subhash Chandra Bose on October 21, the month ends with the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.
More than 550 princely states, that is, independent monarchies who were given the option by Britain to either go independent or unite with India or Pakistan were incorporated in the Union of India with the gargantuan efforts of Patel, rightly called the “Iron Man of India”.
The process of nation building in the last 71 years took time and enormous efforts. Liberated from colonial fetters on August 15, 1947, India’s rebirth was not without pains. Partition of the country was a sad by-product. India embarked on, quoting first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, its tryst with destiny, with firm resolve, albeit some trepidation.
The exercise of nation building continued in right earnest. Success stories in the form of famed institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Management, Indian Space Research Organisation and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, etc, coupled with better standards of living, improved human development indices, agricultural growth, self-sufficiency in grains and milk production through initiatives such as the Green Revolution and Operation Flood in 1960s and 1970s, strides in scientific research, sustained economic growth and grit and entrepreneurship of the people sustained and nourished this ride over more than 70 years.
To top it all, the biggest accomplishment has been India’s thriving democracy. When the world was speculating about an early demise of an independent India which was complex to boot, complicated to run, as diverse in geography, language, religion, culture, cuisine, etc, as it could get, low on human development indices (literacy rate in 1951 stood at a meagre 18%), the country proved to the world that its diversity was its strength and it continues to this day.
Where does India find itself at India@70?
Facts speak for themselves. It is the fastest-growing major economy in the world, third largest in terms of GDP (PPP). The annual GDP growth rose from 3.7% in 1961 and 6.7% in 1980 to 10.3% in 2010; in last three years, the growth rates clocked 8.2%, 7.1% and 6.7% respectively.
Also, India has the third largest group of scientists and technicians in the world and will be the largest supplier of university graduates in the world by 2020. India is planning to celebrate India@75 in 2022 by launching India’s first human mission, making India the fourth nation in the world to launch a human space flight mission. This is on top of our moon mission – Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 and the Mars Orbiter mission. In February last year, India successfully launched a total of 104 satellites of varying sizes in one go.
Taking India@70 to the next level are the transformative and silent revolutions unleashed at grassroot as well as central level. These revolutions are aimed at structural transformation and entrepreneurial rejuvenation across multiple levels through empowerment of Indians across divides and unbottling of a spate of opportunities.
Take for example the issue of financial inclusion. India launched the world’s biggest financial inclusion initiative in August 2014 in the prime minister’s Public Wealth Scheme, popularly known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
The plan envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household and also channelling all government benefits to the beneficiaries’ accounts and pushing the Direct Benefits Transfer scheme, thereby cutting leakage and pilferage. This scheme has helped identify and block more than 33 million duplicate or inactive accounts, helping save millions.
Rolling out of mechanisms like India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), whereby banking channels use the postal network’s reach will help in taking banking to the last mile. With a network of 155 000 post offices countrywide, and more than 300 000 post workers and rural post assistants servicing, IPPB will be India’s most accessible bank.
Institutional reforms like Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and Goods and Services Tax will prepare the groundwork to break into the next league by cutting down on procedural inefficiencies and speeding up the engines of the economy.
Strides in empowerment of women through a host of initiatives aiming at making them equal partners and decision-makers is perhaps the most important attribute of India@70.
Out of 310 million bank accounts in Jan Dhan Yojana, 160 million belong to women. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign (Save daughter, educate daughter) is changing mindsets. #SelfieWithDaughter went viral. Over 34 million free gas connections have been provided to the poorest households in an initiative to reduce their exposure to health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel, and providing creature comforts. India@70 is womencentric, technology friendly, and empowerment-oriented.
Initiatives such as BharatNet (Broadband Network) aim to bring high-speed internet connectivity to the smallest administrative units at village level in the country.
While challenges abound, India’s efforts at nation building continue on the solid foundation laid by its founding fathers and mothers, with the values they enunciated as our guiding lights.