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Published: August 15, 2024
Updated: August 15, 2024

After 77 years of Independence On the rise: Industrialised Status Within Reach

Economically crippled by two centuries of British colonial rule, India had to suffer the indignity in the early years of Independence of having to beg the US for wheat that was unfit for human consumption.

Besides, other socio-economic parameters like industry, literacy, life expectancy and healthcare were abysmally low.

But thanks to the foresight of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the game-changing reforms in the early 1990s of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, India has come a long way on most growth parameters. Most prominently, from just Rs 1.95 lakh crore in 1947, the country’s GDP is today a massive Rs 155 lakh crore. And at its current pace, the Indian economy in the next 5-7 years is set to overtake Germany, Japan and the UK to emerge as the third largest economy after the US and China.

Corporate India lists the country’s game-changing programmes in the fields of agriculture, industry, technology, education, sports, space, cinema and the overall standard of living, while also pointing to current challenges facing the country.

It was the early down of August 15, 1947 when India breathed freedom, with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, among the pioneering architects of a new India, giving a heartfelt and monumental speech, widely referred to as ‘A Tryst with Destiny’. Today, 77 years have passed since that milestone moment in the country’s history. This 77-year span may well be termed by future historians as the most momentous period in the hoary history of India.

British colonial rule spanning around two centuries had sapped the country of its age-old economic strengths, so much so that in the early decades after gaining independence in 1947, India had to beg the US for red wheat under the PL-480 agreement – wheat that was of inferior quality and used for feeding pigs in the US. But undaunted by the challenges created and left by the British, India under the visionary leadership of Nehru laid a very strong foundation for the economic, social, political and all-round progress of the nation by developing infrastructure for rapid agricultural, economic, social and educational growth. The enlightened leadership of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh went a step further, opening up the economy for rapid growth and enabling India to sit at the high table of economic powers with the likes of the US, China, Germany and the UK, and setting the tone for catapulting India to its current position of the fifth largest economy in the world.

During the last 77 years, India has made remarkable progress. Almost all its socio-economic metrics are a gigantic change from the embarrassing postindependence years, most noticeably a GDP of Rs 155 lakh crore from just Rs 1.95 lakh crore on August 15, 1947.

next 5 to 7 years, India will overtake Germany, Japan and the UK to occupy the position of the third largest economy, after only the US and China. Though the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dreamt of taking the Indian economy to the $ 5 trillion mark by 2025, his dream is not likely to be realised. However, it is certain that the next government will achieve this target.

As India marks the 77th anniversary of breaking colonial British shackles and emerging as a free, independent nation, one needs to focus on the tremendous progress made in various fields, including agriculture, industry, technology, education, sports, space, cinema and the overall standard of living. This huge change can be attributed to 8 revolutions and 5 major achievements which lifted a poor, underdeveloped country to the level of a modern, developed nation with a high standard of living. Let’s see what these revolutions and achievements are:

(1) Green Revolution

Before Independence, India was a poor country with millions of people finding it difficult to eat even two times a day. In fact, even food production was far short of the requirement. The Green Revolution, the brainchild of Norman Borlaug, was initiated in India by noted agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, who is widely regarded as the father of the Green Revolution in India. Under its aegis, agriculture in India was converted into a modern industrial system with the use of high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds and the adoption of mechanised farm tools, irrigation facility, fertilisers and pesticides

Under the leadership of Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, the Green Revolution, which commenced in 1968, led to a substantial increase in foodgrains production, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and subsequently spread throughout the country.

The Green Revolution, almost miraculously, resulted in a bumper increase in production of foodgrains – especially wheat and rice – and made the country self-sufficient in cereals, putting an end to India’s dependence on inferior quality US wheat under PL-480 at the time of independence. (In the US, this wheat was being used to feed animals). Thanks to the Green Revolution, a country which was literally starving on account of a food shortage could become not only self-sufficient but today it has emerged as an exporter of foodgrains.

(2) White Revolution

After the Green Revolution came the White Revolution, which was known as Operation Flood. In 1970, the National Dairy Development Board initiated this landmark project under the guidance of far-sighted social entrepreneur Verghese Kurien, who was aptly nicknamed the Father of the White Revolution. The revolution went on to make India the world’s largest milk producer in 1998, from being

a milk-deficient country at the time of independence. Thanks to the White Revolution, milk production in India shot up from just 15 million tonnes at the time of independence to 225 million tonnes today

The White Revolution, which transformed India from a milk-deficient nation to the world’s largest milk producer — accounting for 22.29 per cent of global milk output (2018) — doubled the milk available per person in India and in the process made dairy farming India’s largest self-sustaining industry, raising farmers’ incomes and improving the standard of living of the rural population. The revolution, which promoted Jersey cows and taught the making of skimmed milk powder from buffalo milk, led to the creation of a milk grid linking producers throughout India to consumers in over 700 cities and towns.

(3) Literacy Revolution

When India got freedom from the British yoke, the country was left with an overwhelming number of people who could not read or write. Just about 2 in 10 Indians were literate back on August 15, 1947. Even as the overall literacy rate in the country was poor at just 18 per cent, the female literacy rate was abysmally poor at 8.86 per cent.

During the last 77 years, the situation has reversed, with the literacy rate shooting up from just 18 per cent to 79 per cent. Indeed, India has come a long way in becoming a well- educated nation. The number of schools in the country, which was just 1.4 lakh on August 15, 1947, has surged to over 15 lakh. The number of universities, which was just 25 in 1947, has gone up to around 1120 and the number of colleges has shot up from 575 to over 44000.

According to government data, student enrolment has grown by 15 per cent and female enrolment in higher education has increased by 20 per cent. As with primary, secondary and higher education, medical education too has expanded to accommodate more students and cater to the growing healthcare needs of the country. At the time of independence, India had all of 25 medical colleges. By now, the number has by now reached 750, including 400 government and semi-government colleges, AIMS and general university institutions, 55 deemed universities and balance private medical colleges. The number of MBBS seats has crossed the 1,00,000-mark. Needless to say, the number of doctors in the country has grown phenomenally since 1947 – from just over 61,000 to over 4.75 lakh at present. Apart from allopathic doctors, there are also 6.25 lakh Ayush doctors.

(4) Economic Policy Revolution

Till 1947, India was primarily an old-style agrarian country and the number of industrial factories could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Realising that the government would have to take the lead in building an industrialised India, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru initiated the setting up of industrial plants in the public (government) sector, and encouraged the private sector to set up plants in select sectors. Thus were created giant steel, engineering, defence and other industries, laying a strong foundation for an industrial India. Later, in the early 1990s, then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh initiated economic liberalisation, opening up the Indian economy. This radical policy change paved the way for achieving rapid economic growth. The outcome? The GDP growth rate moved out of the crush of 3 per cent – popularly known as the Hindu rate of growth – and moved towards double-digit growth, with India breaking the manacles of a poor, developing country and getting catapulted to the coveted league of fast-developing economies. Within the next three decades, India was hailed the fastest growing economy in the world and the government has set itself the target of making India a developed, industrialised nation by 2047.

(5) Space Revolution

The space revolution has raised the country’s stature globally. It was in 1962 that the first space research and development agency was set up. Later named Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it was headed by Dr Vikram Sarabhai who is considered the father of the Indian space revolution. Today, ISRO has emerged as the world’s largest maker of remote-sensing satellites and operates the Gagan and Irness satellite navigation systems. It has sent three misisons to the Moon and one to Mars. ISRO is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space co-operation and the development of related technologies.

ISRO built India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet space agency Interkosmos in 1975. In 1980, ISRO launched satellite RS-1 on board the SLV-3, making India only the seventh country to undertake an orbiter launch.

The present government has opened up the space segment for the private sector. As per the government’s plan, private parties will soon be able to launch rockets and conduct commercial space activities with the authorisation and supervision of the government. Activities such as asteroid mining, earth observation, space tourism, satellite launches, deep space exploration and satellite internet will be drivers of the new space economy. Around half a dozen Indian companies are keen to enter this unexplored world.

(7) Roadways Revolution

The roadways revolution has contributed significantly in shaping India’s landscape and propelling it towards a brighter tomorrow. Just after independence — in 1950 to be exact — the country had as per the government figures only 4 lakh km of roadways. That figure is today over 7 million km, suggesting an over 17-fold spurt in the total length of roadways, and making India’s road network the second largest in the world.

At the forefront fo this paradigm shift stands the National Highway Authority of India, established in 1988-89. NHAI, which is a beacon of innovation and sustainability in road construction, adopted ambitious plans to develop national roadways, which constitute a significant step forward in the country’s modernisation.

By spearheading the construction of cutting edge, highspeed, access-controlled roadways, the nation aims to lay the foundation for a globally acclaimed transportation network by 2037.

8) IT Revolution

India's IT revolution has had a significant impact on the country's economy and has opened up new possibilities for social and economic transformation. The revolution, which started in the 1980s, has generated revenues of $ 254 billion in fiscal 2024. The industry, which employs 5.4 million people, has burnished the image of India, which is now known as a country of brilliant engineers. The IT revolution was effectively born in 1967 with the establishment of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a company belonging to the illustrious House of Tata, which subsequently joined hands with Burroughs, which in turn led to the beginning of India's export of IT services. In 1973, India's first software export zone, SEEPZ, was established. During the 1980s, almost 80 per cent of the country's IT exports were from SEEPZ.

The Indian IT industry comprises IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO). Today, the share of the ITBPO sector in the country's GDP is 7.6 per cent. After inception in the 1980s, the IT industry has gone from strength to strength with exports shooting up from $ 3.5 million in 1980 to over $ 100 billion now.

Back in 1985, when the first satellite link was established at the new Indian operations of Texas Instruments in Bengaluru, very few would have bet that it would herald a revolution in India's economic growth story. It is now well acknowledged that the IT industry can and does play a key role in ensuring that the country is able to realise its dream of being an economic superpower. That first satellite not only helped the MNC have a round-the-clock communication link with its US headquarters but also showcased the potential of what could be done remotely using the nascent but growing technologies.

India's being ahead of main Western markets like the US, Canada and Europe by almost 10-12 hours on the clock was initially seen as a handicap but the local IT industry converted that into an advantage by following the 'sun' model. For instance, as the US operations of multinationals ended for the day, their Indian partners took up the baton to take work further, only to hand it back to the American counterparts the next day. This continuous cycle vastly improved competitiveness, deliverable timelines and efficiencies. This, coupled with the abundant pool of technical talent available at low cost, powered the initial success of the Indian IT industry.

JOB CREATOR

Nimble Indian infotech companies never looked back, seeing opportunities for growth -- though expectedly there have been periods of severe challenges and downturns. The Indian IT sector, according to industry association NASSCOM, has generated a total revenue of $ 227 billion, including $ 178 billion in exports. More importantly, the IT services and Business Process Management (BPM) industry has created five million high-paying white collar jobs. Not only has it ensured broad-based growth, of the sector's five million employees nearly two million are women, making it one of the most progressive sectors in ensuring equal opportunities for employment irrespective of gender, caste, region or religion.

Just for perspective, at the turn of the millennium India's IT experts were a mere $ 8.5 billion, which spurted to $188 billion last year. IT exports from India accounted for a 51 per cent share of all services exports from the country. While comparisons might not be apt, the country earned more from exporting IT services than Saudi Arabia did by exporting oil.

Electrification Revolution

There was an acute shortage of power in the country when India got independence. The total installed capacity in 1947 was 1,362 Gwh, which was not sufficient for even the big cities, not to talk of around 6 lakh villages. Today, the total installed capacity has skyrocketed to around 4,00,000 Gwh. According to official sources, electricity access which was less than 30 per cent in 1947 has surged to 99.60 per cent by now. Rural India was totally in the dark and managing with lanterns! According to the Ministry of Power, only 3,061 villages out of a total of 5,97,464 villages had access to electricity in 1950.

If government figures are to be believed, today all villages in the country have been electrified. However, given the criteria to declare a village electrified - 10 per cent of households in a village having access to electricity -- there are still millions who live without electricity. As providing rural India with access to electricity has been one of the goals of India's socio-economic policy making since independence, the days are not far off when the entire country will be electrified.

The electrification revolution has contributed significantly in economic, social and educational fields, enabling people to improve their standard of living.

All these revolutions -- green, white, literary, economic policy, IT, rail & road, electrification and space research -- have gone a long way in changing the shape, size and colour of the country. From acute shortages of food, milk, electricity and transportation facilities, the country is today enjoying an abundance of these.

1) Indian Constitution:

" The very first achievement for independent India was when it launched its Constitution on January 26, 1951.
" It laid down the framework that demarcates the fundamental political code, rights and duties of the government and citizens.
" The Constitution earned India the title of the largest secular, democratic country in the world

2) Polio Eradication:

" In 1994, India accounted for 60% of the world's polio cases.
" Within two decades, India got the 'polio-free certificate' from the World Health Organization in 2014.
" The vigilant movement to prevent polio dramatically increased the life expectancy from 32 years (1947) to 68.89 years.

3) Right to Education:

" India has come a long way in making education a crucial part of Indian development. The Right to Education
Act, 2010 affirms education as a fundamental right of every child, providing free and compulsory elementary education to all.

4) Powerful Defence:

After independence, India strengthened its defence so that history does not repeat itself. In 1954, India launched the Atomic Energy Programme, becoming the first nation to do so. In 1974, India conducted 'Smiling Buddha', its first nuclear test, making it to the list of five nuclear-powered nations. This is one of the biggest achievements of India since 1947. Today, India has the 2nd largest military force and largest voluntary army in the world.

5) Nuclear programme:

India experimented with its first nuclear bomb in Rajasthan's Pokhran in 1974.
India became the world's sixth nuclear power with the operation 'Smiling Buddha'.
The AEC (Atomic Energy Commission) and the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) executed another exercise called 'Pokhran-II' in Rajasthan in 1998.

WHAT LIES AHEAD?

Today, as India commemorates its 78th independence day, the nation stands at a critical juncture in its economic journey. The global economy faces challenges of raging inflationary price spirals, high debt, economic slowdown, light and volatile financial conditions, continuing geopolitical tensions, fragmentation and extreme weather conditions. Even as the pace of economic growth has slowed down in most countries, India has emerged as the fastest growing economy in the world today.

Global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have called India a 'bright spot' in the global economy. This year, IMF upgraded India's GDP projection for 2024-25 by 20 basis points to 70 per cent, revising upwards its forecast from the previous estimate of 6.8 per cent. After revising the forecast, the IMF's latest world economic outlook report, says, "The development has come in backdrop of a notable rise in consumption prospects, especially in rural areas. With this, India continues to maintain its position as the fastest growing economy among emerging markets and developing economies."

Adds the IMF report, "The resilience of the Indian economy has taken the stock market to an all-time high… and reflects investor confidence in India's long-term growth reforms, demographic dividend and technological advancements."

Earlier, rating agency S&P in a report predicted that the upcoming decades would turn traditionally uneven growth into a high and stable trend. "We expect India to grow 6.7 per cent per year from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2031, catapulting GDP to $ 6.7 trillion from $3.4 trillion in fiscal 2023, while per capita income will rise to $ 4,500," the report said.

Of course, in recent years three major problems have posed serious challenges for India. They are:
(a) Growing inequality between the rich and the poor. While the number of billionaires is on the rise, the number of poor people is rising at a faster pace. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to be believed, around 80 crore poor people live on food supplied free by the government.
(b) Rising inflation. Prices of almost everything, led by food and vegetables, have upset the budgets of poor, low-income and middle-class people
(c) Growing unemployment. The unemployment rate has climbed to a disturbing level of over 9 per cent.

NEW THINKING

The present government seems to not be paying much attention to these burning problems. The leadership needs new thinking which is innovative and effective. On the other hand, leading global agencies are unanimous in prophesying a coming 'Indian decade'. The wheel of fortune has turned full circle for an ancient land and culture which, to take a leaf from the words of its first Prime Minister, is truly living up to its long anticipated tryst with destiny.