AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio Newsonair. In this program, many eminent panelists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation. This article features the progress of India in various sectors after 75 years of Independence.
Participant – Subroto Mukerjee, Political Analyst
Moderator – Vinay Kumar, Journalist
Introduction:
India celebrated the 75th anniversary of its Independence on August 15, 2022. India gained Independence from British rule in 1947 and went on to become one of the largest democracies in the world.
Progress path of India from a poor and backward country towards becoming a superpower:
- India inherited an economy bruised by colonial exploitation and the horrors of partition.
- India was ruled by various governments and had gone through structural economic changes to achieve its feet today.
Ideas and Institutions:
- India after independence gave prominence to the ideas of secularism, democracy, free press, inclusive economic growth and non-alignment in international affairs and also in institutions that would lay the foundation for India’s future growth.
- These institutions touched every kind of economic activity, ranging from agriculture to aviation and space research.
- These institutions including the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Bhakra-Nangal dam, the LIC, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, and the National Library of India occupied the commanding heights of a stable, self-sustaining economy with people’s welfare as their central mission.
- Jawaharlal Nehru described them as “the temples of modern India”.
- Along with large projects in steel and petroleum, successive governments saw the importance of promoting small and cottage industries and set up the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
- The Election Commission of India resulted in the triumph of democracy with free and fair elections.
Economic Development:
- Numerous objectives visualized by the National Planning Committee, the People’s plan by M.N Roy, the 1945 Bombay Plan and many more were put in place by young and independent India.
- The focus was given to the construction of dams and irrigation projects as they would integrate the agricultural development and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.
- The Green Revolution transformed India from a basket case to a grain-exporting nation.
- 1991 reforms under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao transformed the economy into an open, liberal and largely market-driven regime.
- The total length of National Highways in 1947 was about 21,378 km, which has now gone up to more than 1.40 lakh km. India now has the second largest road network in the world with a total length of about 62 lakh km.
- Collectively, these reforms have lifted over 300 million Indians above the poverty line since independence and resulted in the arrival of a modern, diversified globally connected economy with a significant digital component.
Science and technology:
- India built the Central Scientific and Industrial Research laboratories, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) and numerous scientific institutions.
- The University Grants Commission was greatly expanded to cover all universities in the First Five Year Plan.
- Independent India set a goal of self-reliance or ‘Made in India’ to develop technologies. Insistence on transferring all technology to the Indian entity in any foreign partnership backed the policy. Transferring knowledge was as important as importing plants and machinery.
- Universities and other scientific institutions were crucial to India’s development plan for indigenous science and technology.
- The Indian oil and natural gas, electricity sector, steel and coal, atomic energy, and space sectors all emerged from the vision of self-reliance.
- Organizations like ISRO, DRDO, and BARC all contributed to the growth of India in the sphere of science and technology.
Social Sector:
- The overall literacy rate in India was quite poor at just over 18%, the female literacy rate was at 8.86%. In 2022, the figures have nearly reversed to 74.4% in 2018, India has come a long way in establishing a well-educated nation.
- India has 1,043 universities and over 42,000 colleges for its ambitious young population. In 1950, India had only 27 universities and 578 colleges.
- There are over 13 lakh doctors at present from a mere 61000 in 1951.
- Due to policies like the Swachh Bharat Mission, India has realized the goal of 100% rural sanitation coverage. Rural sanitation — the percentage of the population with toilets within/attached to their houses — was just 1% in 1981.
- Infant Mortality Rate has reduced from 146 per 1,000 live births in 1951 to 30 per 1,000 live births in 2019.
Conclusion:
In 1947, India was politically shattered, socially divided and emotionally devastated. Yet, with restraint and self-confidence, it successfully went through those turbulent times with the vision of a modern, progressive nation that quietly earned the respect of the global community. Now India is widely recognised as the fastest-growing large economy in the world. It is an incredible transformation in scale and depth to unfold in 75 years.
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