India at 75: A journey of reimagination and transformation

Riding its post-Independence growth momentum, India must make technology, local manufacturing, climate action, and social change its mantras for national rejuvenation, writes Mrs Rajashree Birla, Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development

Spool back to 1947. The specter of poverty loomed large. Healthcare, education, water and infrastructure was not at the desired level. Infant and maternal mortality were common place. The mortality rate at 50 years was shocking. In India as people were shackled in servitude, everything was topsy-turvy. Exploitation of the country was rampant. Our forefathers were slaves then.

Rewind to the India of today. 75 years of Independence, a banner year and a moment in time. We have indeed forged leagues ahead in all spheres and this is a matter of glory for all of us Indians at heart.

We stand on the cusp of the country’s leap, economically and socially. The specter of poverty no longer haunts our country. A World Bank policy paper mentions, that extreme poverty in India is down to 10 percent. The Government’s digital services have been a boon as it has linked the poor with an electronic identity, that enables them to access the economic reforms ensuring direct real time digital welfare system. The hon’ble PM’s development initiatives, such as, the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana, the Jal Jeevan Yojana, PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0, Gram Ujala Scheme, to name a few have made a life changing difference.

Regardless of the COVID, the Indian economy is on a surge. India has been reimagined, and in a manner of speaking reinvented. An amazing confluence of forces, inclusive of technological dives, and shifts on the geopolitical arena, is working to our advantage.

The Economist’s May edition mentions that, India is forecast to be the largest growing economy on the wings of primarily, “tech stack”. India’s estimated growth at 7 to 7.5 percent would be a phenomenal enabler, birthing a global manufacturing base. That is a vantage point. We all need to leverage it to unshackle the 10 percent from poverty.

We must be concerned and sensitive to the earth. Climate change, carbon emissions, disrupting rainfall patterns, extreme weather conditions, depletion of water resources, the erosion of the ecosystems, the risk to biodiversity, amongst other factors, pose real dangers to mankind. India has aggressively responded to the climate ask with its commitments towards the ‘net zero’ target.

The Government is also fully seized of containing inflation, getting a fix on the export/import imbalance, tapering of portfolio investments even as FDIs remain robust.

We should not be dismissive about longstanding problems such as alcoholism, wife abuse, girl child uncared, child marriages and more in the interiors.

A lot of good has happened. A lot more needs to be done. The lives of 1.4 billion people are set on a transformative journey. My message is an echo of what Albert Einstein said, and I quote, “It is high time that the ideal of success be replaced with the ideal of service. Only a life lived for others, is a life worthwhile”.

– Rajashree Birla is the Chairperson,
Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development