Since our independence on 15th August 1947, the enchantment of India along with its diversified composition has come of age.The past was great, the present is magnificent, and the future looks bright. All must blossom in the perfect potential they ought to be. But this demands continuous deliberations and an action plan. The years to come hold great prospects for India, and the need is to cash on such opportunities.
India’s eventful past allows a greater insight into the ideals that our sages passed on to generations. It is most opportune to present the quote of Roosevelt, “The more you know about the past, the better prepared are you for the future “. Our ancient past gave us the gift of liberation and non-violence. Be it Buddha or Mahavira, all preached living a satisfied and content life. Learning from them, our vision for coming years should be to make our fellow citizens aware of the life beyond materialism. This would have positive externalities in the form of less violence, struggle, and opposition. If there would be peace in the mind, there would be better utilization of one’s potential. A New India, where everyone would be contributing to their full potential, would be a power to reckon with.The idea of ‘Sulh-e-kul’ become pertinent here. Borrowing the ideals of this philosophy of Akbar, The New India’s Action plan must take a balanced approach to religious tolerance.Thus, from our history apart from our inheritance, we must also inherit the concepts of contentment, tolerance, non-violence, etc. However, the New India Vision demands a revisit of every aspect.
Geography is a subject which holds the key to our future.Our New India vision’s thread must pierce through the landscapes of our country from the far North to the deepest South and from the land of rising Sun till the last ray of sunset. In doing so, the connectedness becomes important. Thus the farthest of the place must be made accessible via some mode of transportation. Albeit projects like SARDP-NE, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, etc have tried to fill up the gap, much remains to be achieved. Thus New India’s Action plan must be to achieve greater road construction per day, monitoring the activity, maintaining the roads made and assigning newer projects under innovative contracts. New India must also envision to extend the roads to the neighboring countries. This would help our Northeast and the far-west states. With the distinction of the third largest network, Indian Railways serve lakhs of commuters daily.But the New India Plan must focus on safety, security, speed, and cost-effectiveness. The New India must plan to help commuters take the air-route for better time utilization. Schemes like UDAN are supportive to this cause, yet the prices still deter the common man to enter this sector. Geography has its veins spread into other aspects too.
“If conservation of natural Resources goes wrong, nothing will go right”. Rightly said by M.S.Swaminathan, this becomes very important for The New India Vision. In the coming years when the population would increase exponentially, we need a clarion call for a New Action Plan that is sensitive to the available resources.With about 2.5 % of the land area, the plan for a booming population becomes important. New India Action plan must include concepts of Smart Cities and RURBAN transformation so that the citizens get to live a dignified life. Water being the most basic necessity must get a priority in the Action Plan. The escalating river water disputes have threatened the lives of many. The action plan must place into system a concrete mechanism to solve the rive crisis. The interlinking of rivers has a great potential to fight the evil of drought and flood. This must get a primary place in the action plan. Geography can help only when the fundamentals of economic activities are strong.
Ideas are the currency of the new economy, and precisely the New India’s Action Plan must envision to focus on a faster and more inclusive economic growth. The GDP of the country along with its per capita income defines its economic health. In order to boost the economic growth, the aggregate demand has to be boosted.To boost the demand paying capacity must be leveraged. This calls for greater employment generation. The New Action Plan must cash in on sectors like MSMEs, footwear, apparels, and specifically labor oriented manufacturing entities. Along with this, the tax base has to be increased, so that the tax revenues contribute more to GDP. Younger generation will play a vital role in the coming years. In order to reap the dividends, a push to start-ups, engendering entrepreneurship, must be on the anvil. It is through innovations that the New India would find a place among the top economies and these must get support from government and the private sectors. Skill development may be a panacea for much of the employment deficit. But, the growth must trickle down to the primary sectors too. Agriculture that stands up to bear the most labor force, must get focused attention in the New Action Plan. Doubling the farmers income in the years to come will not only revive interest in agriculture but will also help women with their bargaining power. New India Action plan cannot miss out on this sector, as the food security of the nation is highly dependent on this. Having an evergreen revolution should be the creed of the New Action Plan. The equitable benefits must reach even the poorest of the farmer. Having played the role of facilitator the New India Action plan must also restrict some.
Black money is the tumor of the economy that must be nipped in the bud. New India must plan for the shielding of the economy from the effects of black money. With the new avenues to generate black money , the action plan will have to be one step ahead. Corruption is the single largest factor that leads to amassing of wealth and thus breeds more corruption. It is rightly said that “Corruption is Authority plus Monopoly minus Transparency”. This leads us to the system of power and hierarchy in the New Action Plan. Corruption then acts as the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty. New India must envision a corruption-free society by placing only the genuine people at the right place. It must allow the institutions the autonomy to work. The Action Plan must start with the Police System, that needs autonomy, greater human resources, and funds for modernization. The civilian police needs resurrection to gain Citizen’s faith and to promote a friendly environment. New India must give priority to Law and Order, breaking the nexus of Organized criminals and provide safety and security to the citizens specifically the vulnerable sections. Not only this New India must present itself as a potent power to protect itself from the external threats.
Invincibility lies in the defense, the possibility of victory in the attack. Thus New India in the coming years must prepare itself on both the fronts. Even the neighborhood environment remains hostile with Pakistan and China showing aggressiveness. The Action Plan must involve preparation of the Defence Forces along with artilleries and other types of equipment. Instead of relying on the import of battle equipment, India’s New Action Plan must strive to generate these within the country. “Make in India” must expand its reach to make for India and make with India. Conspicuously enough, our focus must also be set on the human resources of the Armed Forces. Their grievances must be addressed systematically via the Grievance Redressal Commission. Defence preparedness must also dwell on research and development. Not having stopped at AGNI 5 shows that India is progressing on even greater defense targets. The technology interplay in other fields is equally vital.
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. Science and Technology pursue this curiosity. The New Action plan for the coming years must strive to engender the curiosity in the youngest of the generations. If one PSLV launch can put 104 satellites in one go, one must wonder how to put 200 satellites and having achieved that how to put even more numbers of satellites. Not only Mangalyaan, but the New Action Plan must facilitate ISRO and other organizations to make initiatives for even farther planets. New India in the coming years should reflect itself as a digitally advanced country with high level of digital literacy and this must be ensured through the New Action Plan. Digital India must get a priority space in the vision for the coming years. India has been historically known for traditional medicines, yoga, naturopathy. This must be harnessed by the New Action Plan. This could be taken a step ahead by linking it with Bio-Technology and helping the society with new emerging diseases. New Action plan must focus on the health of citizens and must strive for affordable, accessible, available health facilities. Besides technology and health, the New India must envision a refined social order.
Poverty is the worst form of violence. Thus the New Action Plan must ensure that the coming years alleviate the poverty syndromes. Redistribution of wealth and resources must be endured, along with generating new opportunities for winning bread. Considering that the most vulnerable sections of the society are women and children, the New Action Plan must follow a holistic approach. Patriarchal connotations have already snatched away the dignified living of women. The New Action Plan must work towards empowering Women and making them independent. The safety and security of women become pertinent, and the action plan must specifically secure these at home, workplace and even in transportation. Child Labour has already roughened the soft hands of Millions of children. Malnutrition and deficiencies mar millions other. The New India Vision should be to provide greater education facilities along with nutritious food to children and free them from any Labor activity. Even the Differently abled ones must be brought into the system and must feel inclusive of the development activities. Thus food, clothing, and shelter must be the motto of the action plan for the coming days. This all will be possible only when we have well-developed institutions.
New India envisions of greater infrastructure and institutional building. Nation builds on these two vital aspects. The tangible infrastructure must be made inclusive and must be developed expeditiously. Institutions need to play their role effectively in New India. Action Plan must strive for speedier justice and that too at less expense. It must also include the bureaucracy from the higher echelons to the deepest rung, that needs to become more Citizens friendly and accountable. Educational institutions must strive to impart value education. The higher education must be imparted at levels comparable to the Western World. New India would thus be educated, digitally competent, employed, content with the resources and a better place to live happily.
All the actions toward a better India need a pure and selfless action. Having come this far in a democratically sovereign country, we must plan our actions more specifically and without any self-interest. The New Action Plan for India must not only have a written codified spirit but also have the courageous implementation of the plans. The coming years are vital for the country and will help India establish itself on the world map assertively. We must come together to frame a India that would have space for each one.
ETEN
