Raju Vernekar
Even as we are celebrating 68 th Independence Day, the NDA Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set out several initiatives which are harbinger of a change.
On I Day, this year there will be a difference in PM’s address to the nation from the Red Fort. Doordarshan, the official broadcaster of the Independence Day function, will broadcast a 3-minute profile of Modi, before he addresses the nation. His short profile will be aired by all 15 regional channels of Doordarshan followed by the National Song “Vande Mataram” and then his speech will begin.
The PM’s speech will be followed by march past by divisions of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, and parades and pageants showcasing events from struggle for independence as well as cultural traditions of the country
Similar events will take place throughout the country and abroad by the Indian Diaspora. In several cities in the United States, 15 August has received the nomenclature “India Day”.
The PM who has commissioned “My gov” a new portal to get the views of citizens for good governance is expected to announce a program of financial inclusion by ensuring a bank account in every household. Besides the announcement of a scheme for rural housing and a full statehood to Delhi is on cards.
Modi made a good beginning by inviting heads of the neighbouring states for his swearing ceremony followed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Bangladesh, Myanmar and PM’s recent visit to Nepal. His proposed visit to USA next month is expected to pave the way for putting the best foot forward in international relations.
The Government has already announced several measures to ensure all round development of the country including the development of hitherto neglected North Eastern states.
It is important to take a stock of several issues related to this largest democracy in the world.
Indo-Pak relations
The issue of cross border militancy remains unresolved as evident from the sporadic attacks on our posts by Pakistani army. This is a clear indication of failure of bilateral peace talks between the two countries.
Indo-China relation
The relation between India and China is at a new historical starting point. Vice-President Hamid Ansari recently visited China to attend events to mark the 60th anniversary of Panchsheel agreement. He also held bilateral talks with his counterpart Li Yuanchao.
But the flare-ups along the 4,057km-long disputed Indo-China border have not been totally stopped. On July 25 China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel entered Ladakh through the Charding Nilu Nullah Junction in the Demchok sector along the LAC on their vehicles claiming it to be Chinese territory. Later both the countries played it down saying the issue was resolved amicably through a flag meeting.
Surprisingly the two incursion bids by the PLA came even as Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi emphasised on the need to find a solution to the boundary question during their meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil, on sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
Economy
On economic front, ther Government has already announced 49 per cent FDI in defence, realty, insurance sector and increase in allocation for the National Housing Bank to improve housing stock.
While the Indian rupee at present hovering around 62 in terms of US dollar is expected to be more stable, the growth rate is expected to grow in the range of 5.4 to 5.9 per cent in 2014-15. Besides the RBI is in the process of bringing down CPI inflation to 8 percent by January 2015. Besides the Government has promised to reduce the deficit to 4.1 per cent of GDP till March 2015 from 4.5 per cent a year earlier. However in view of the weak tax receipts and high Government expenditure commitments. the promise seems to be too optimistic
IT
The Government has also set aside Rs 10,000 crore to fund start-ups and entrepreneurs to improve IT to boost the battered Indian economy.
Population
The population which was a mere 35 crore at the time of Independence, has swelled up to 127 crore and we are next to China which is on the top with over 136 crore. At the same time nearly 42.5 per cent Indian children suffer from malnutrition indicating that we are unable to get over the scarcity of pure water and lack of sanitation facilities. Besides, nearly 29.5 per cent of our population live below the poverty line (BPL) as defined by the Rangarajan committee ( Tendulkar Committee puts this figure at 21.9 per cent). By rough estimate, 102.5 million in urban areas and 53 million in rural areas are below the poverty line. All the same the National Food Security Bill expected to guarantee 82 crore people, the right to cooked nutritious food has proved ineffective.
Unemployment
As per the study conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the unemployment rate for youngsters aged between 15 and 29 (nearly 285 million) has increased, while the overall unemployment rate has remained almost unchanged.
About 5 per cent youth (male/female) in rural area , 8 per cent youth (male) and 13 per cent (female) in urban area, are unemployed. In rural area the unemployment rate is highest in Kerala followed by Assam and Uttarakhand.
While in urban India, the unemployment rate is highest in Jammu and Kashmir followed by Kerala and Assam.
Literacy
A person of 7 years and above, able to read and write, is considered as a literate in India. As per the 2011 population census, the literacy rate is 74.04 per cent (65.38% earlier). It consists of male-82.14% and female 65.46%. The literacy rate in Kerala (93.9%) is the highest, while it is lowest (63.08% ) in Bihar.
Despite the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) 8.1 million children(age group 6-14) remain out of school and there is a shortage of 2 lakh schools and 1,500 universities and colleges and 5.08 lakh teachers, country wide.
Houses
The housing shortage in the urban areas has touched 18.78 million units, where 95% of the shortage is in the economically weaker section and low income group, according to a report by the National Housing Bank (NHB).
Power
As per the report by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the “country is expected to experience a peak shortage of 2 per cent and energy shortage of 5.1 per cent, in the current financial year. with the southern and north-eastern regions anticipated to witness high deficits. Going by the projections, the shortfall in the southern region would be 12.7 per cent; north eastern – 17.4 per cent; eastern – 3.4 per cent, and northern region-3.1 per cent. But the western region is expected to see a marginal surplus of 0.3 per cent.
The fact remains that despite 64.5 per cent electrification rate, 35.5 per cent of the country’s population has no access to electricity.
Law and order
The topic of law and order and women’s security still remains a cause of concern as evident from the recent incidents of Badaun in Uttar Pradesh and also the incidents of rape of minor girls in certain parts of the country.
Space research
In space research, India has continued to make progress as evident from the recent launch of five satellites (PSLV-C23) from four countries from the spaceport of Sriharikota in presence of the PM. The appeal made by PM on the occasion to scientists of ISRO to develop a satellite for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations and expand the footprint of its navigation systems to all of South Asia, is of far reaching consequences.
Mangalyaan
Our maiden inter-planetary mission to Mars “Mangalyaan” is on course and the orbiter would reach the Martian orbit on September 24. Another major project in the coming months would be the experimental mission of GSLV-MARK 3 with the crew module for country’s human space flight mission.
Defence
The Centre has already raised military spending to Rs.2.29 lakh crore for 2014-15, marking an increase of 12.5 per cent over the previous fiscal to boost the development of indigenous hardware.
INS Vikramaditya, India’s largest warship to date has already been commissioned. Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier that was originally built and operated by the Soviet Union.
The Vikramaditya, along with the INS Arihant,- India’s first nuclear powered submarine,represents a major increase in the capacity of the Indian Navy to project power in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Besides this, the Indian Navy which relies on its fleet of Sea King helicopters inducted in eighties, plans to acquire over 120 multi role choppers for carrying out anti-submarine warfare.
Our army which did not induct a new gun since the Bofors scandal of the mid-1980s, is now planning to buy a mix of new-generation artillery gun systems like 155mm(39/45/52 calibre). The deadline for the projected artillery profile is 2027.
All said and done India should become self-reliant with every reform travelling from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Then only we can boast of unity in diversity and have an all round progress.
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