Independent India at 71

India’s development since 1947 in all fields has been spectacular to make every Indian a proud citizen of India

| AUGUST 15, 2018, 06:58 PM IST

An Independent India was bequeathed a shattered economy, widespread illiteracy and shocking poverty. Thus the task before the nation was not only big but gigantic, on the backdrop of almost total darkness. Proper planning in all aspects was needed to achieve the goals of the development as well as to keep the people of this vast country with different languages, religions and castes united in a free India. 

A country that today comes across as a strong, powerful nation has achieved many things in its journey of 71 years. India has come long way since Independence. No one can ignore the development that led us to make a mark in numerous areas at the global level. The development of Independent India, in the real sense, started with the introduction of the First Five year Plan (1951-1956). It was a path selected by the first elected government of democratic India and 71 years of Independence have seen sea changes in the social-economic landscape of our great nation. 

The first 2-3 years were formative to lay the strong foundation of democracy in the country. The first being adoption of the Constitution with Dr. B R Ambedkar being appointed head of drafting committee on August 28, 1947 with one objective – draft a permanent and organized Constitution of India. 

The committee worked for 141 days and submitted its first draft of the Constitution to the Constituent Assembly on November 4, 1947. Assembly Sessions took place for 166 days during the period of two years, and after a plethora of discussions and amendments on 26th January 1950, the Constitution of India was validated and came into effect across the country. 

The path to be followed for all round development of a vast nation like India could not be easily determined. It needed a great deal of planning, a clear vision and able leadership. India adopted the 5-year plans for all round development of the nation. 

The first PM Jawaharlal Nehru presented the first 5-year plan to Parliament focussing on development of the much-needed primary sector. Since then, 12 five-year plans as well as some yearly plans have been executed in India thus taking the country to its position of today standing proudly in the comity of nations in the world. 

At the time of Independence in 1947, agriculture productivity was very low, just about 50 million tonnes. More than 80% of the population was dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. Thus agriculture was given more importance in planning. Small and big irrigation projects were initiated. There was a challenge to feed the ever-increasing population and therefore steps for green revolution were taken in early 1960s. Simultaneously, the white revolution was also achieved and now India is amongst the highest ranking countries in agriculture production. 

Education was available only to the elite and literacy was at a  paltry 12.2%. This was a mammoth challenge. Many education policies were framed. The first PM Jawaharlal Nehru also laid stress on providing institutions of excellence in higher learning and thus started IITs and IIMs. Today we have magnificent edifice of universities and colleges imparting under graduate, postgraduate and research programs. 

India also inherited a poor road infrastructure, primitive water transport, scattered rail transport and very limited air transport totally meant for the elite. Our road network is today the second largest in the world. Indian railway is the fourth largest rail network in the world. It is also the world’s eighth largest employer with more than 1.308 million employees. As far as air transport is concerned, India is the ninth largest market in the world with 90 operational airports, 1180 aircrafts, 303 helicopters and 11 4 operational scheduled airlines and 133 nonscheduled operators. By 2020 India will be in top three civil aviation markets in the world and will handle 300 million passengers. 

At the time of Independence all 6 lakh plus villages were without electricity supply. At the end of eighth five year plan in 1997, exactly 50 years after Independence, 4,98,836 villages were electrified. By March 2014, 97% of total villages were electrified. The remaining 3% received power supply on April 29, 2018.

Industrial development after independence has also been spectacular. The balanced development of cottage, small scale, medium scale and large scale industries were envisaged by early leadership in democratic India. Emphasis on industries and computer education created headway for rapid development playing a major role in GDP growth. Due to liberalization policy during the tenure of PM P.V. Narsinha Rao the IT sector has grown in multiple progression. 

Today almost every Indian has a cell phone for easy connectivity. There are more than 445 million internet subscribers, the second highest in the world next to USA. 

The Indian media and entertainment industry has been a surprise sector for the economy. India has taken confidant strides in all spheres of scientific development. It takes pride in its first space programme which began with its launch of its first satellite Aryabhatta in 1975. Launching of Chandrayan in 2008 marked a new milestone for space technology in India. 

With its first mission to Mars in 2013, India became the first nation in the world to achieve splendid success in first attempt itself. India is also a proud member of the elite nuclear club. 

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