India's Decade of Progress: Key Milestones and Achievements
As India prepares to celebrate its 78th Independence Day, I present an outline of the incredible transformations my country has experienced over the past decade. The article is primarily focused on government schemes and how they helped to expand the country's overall progress.
India has experienced a significant change in the past decade in all fields, which signifies the changes that are happening in the country. The decade from 2014 to 2024 could be assessed as the one that saw major advancements in the field of infrastructure, technologies, healthcare, education and social standards that provided India with enormous opportunities to become a key player in the emerging world. This article aims at discussing the main sectors in which the Indian economy has shown significant improvements.
Economic Growth and Reforms
In addition, the government’s emphasis on digitalization through campaigns such as Digital India has positively impacted the economy. Pressure for shifting to digital money and payments, the emergence of the fintech industry, and a growing focus on online shopping have changed the economic environment. The implementation of Aadhaar, biometric identification, has also helped in improving financial inclusion, connecting millions of people with the banking system.
Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure has emerged as one of the key areas of development in India, with ambitious projects underway forrestructuring the physical geography of the country, both at the urban and rural levels. The ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’ has played a significant role in catering for the need for housing for millions of urban and rural poor people and in reducing the housing deficiency in the country.
The incorporation of new roads through schemes such as the Bharatmala Pariyojana and, the building of highways and expressways have enhanced access across the nation. The concept of smart cities, which is the use of technology to improve the quality of life in cities with efficiency and sustainability has also been of interest.
The strong state policies for renewable energy have seen an expansion in the utilization of solar and wind power. India has emerged as the world’s largest solar power market and has recently launched the International Solar Alliance to address the climate change problem.
Healthcare Advancements
The last decade has been marked by improvements in the facets of healthcare in India. The introduction of Ayushman Bharat, the largest and most ambitious healthcare scheme in the world in 2018, has brought about health insurance to more than 500 million people. This has stimulated growth in that aspect of healthcare provision and made it common and affordable for the less fortunate to access.
The pharma sector of India has also grown significantly and the country has become a leading exporter of generic drugs. The COVID-19 pandemic also revealed India‘s capability in terms of vaccine production and distribution and the country has been hailed as the “ pharmacy of the world. “
Modern telemedicine and digital health solutions have emerged as an important trend that increased the accessibility to healthcare services in remote and underserved areas, especially during the pandemic. The government provided focus towards infrastructure development in the healthcare sector, which has led to the opening of new medical colleges and hospitals to enhance the quality of healthcare in the country.
Education and Skill Development
Education has been one of the focal areas of concern in India over the past decade with consistent efforts made towards increasing the enrolment rates, quality of education and achievements. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has rewritten the rules of education and seeks to activate change at all levels of our education system for the better. Digital education platforms that have emerged due to the administrative support of Digital India have provided better quality education in rural and remote areas. Online learning solutions and the acquisition of education technology firms have added the dimension of flexibility to learning. Skill development has also received emphasis with programs such as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) which focuses on the skills development of the youth to meet industry requirements. These initiatives have played a role in narrowing the skill gap and improving job readiness, thus adding to the country’s pool of human capital.
Social Welfare and Inclusion
India has witnessed a significant advancement in matters and policies regarding social welfare and integration with the government launching different schemes and programs that seek to enhance the living standards of the needy and vulnerable persons. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which commenced in 2014 has been one of the most successful campaigns in the country to enhance sanitation standards. The construction of millions of toilets and the promotion of cleanliness have helped in decreasing open defecation, thus improving public health.
Jan Dhan Yojana is a financial inclusion programme through which a large number of people, who did not have any banking facilities earlier, can avail of banking services and can improve their savings and knowledge in this field. Subsidies and welfare benefits transfers have been made effective through a DBT system that eliminated leakages and corruption.
In its bid to empower women, the government has seen it necessary to adopt and launch several policies and gender-related projects. The most recent one is Beti Bachao Beti Padhao which conveys the message of educating a girl child and not discriminating against them. However, improvements in women's employment, women's employment safety and security have also been put forward thus contributing to women’s parity.
Technological Advancements and Innovation
The technology industry in India has grown significantly in the last decade and the country is now on the world map as a hub of innovation and technology. Startup India is one of the major factors that has offered a boost to the growth of the startup ecosystem across sectors like fintech, e-commerce, healthcare and education.
It has positioned technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things among others, through the government’s encouragement of digitalization. These technologies are being used to solve problems in several sectors ranging from agriculture, health and governance and improve productivity. The 5G technology is going to redefine the realm of communication and connectivity in the country and pave the path for newer advancements. There is also a focus on research and development, through funding in advanced technologies; making India an international player in technology cauldron.
Environmental Sustainability
India has achieved substantial success in the framework of environmental management with the economic development of the country and initiatives for green policies. The drive towards the development of green energy, especially solar energy has been a success, and today; India is the third largest producer of renewable energy globally.
In recent years, the government has adopted the Paris Agreement and taken measures in various policies and projects making efforts to decrease carbon emissions in developing countries. Some of the measures that have been taken to counter environmental problems include Afforestation programs that have been undertaken, the respective waste management programs that have been encouraged, and the promotion of the use of electric vehicles.
The last decade has been a turning point for India in terms of development because of the advancement in various sectors across the nation. Its emphasis on economic liberalization, infrastructure initiatives, healthcare, education, and social sectors has provided a good foundation for long-term prosperity. The impact of the Centenary Celebrations of the provision of the diocese of Chichester must not be overlooked in its effort to point out the fact that there have been a lot of achievements made over the past ten years that will enable India to further develop and become a world power as it dreams of.
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