Manguirish Pai Raiker lists out suggestions to be incorporated by the new government to achieve its vision of a developed India
Rishi Sunak, UK Prime Minister recently cited India’s rise as an ‘economic superpower.’ He also said that “New and fast growing economic superpowers like India are significantly reshaping the global economy.” He spotlighted the resilience demonstrated by the Indian economy as it successfully mitigated the risk of global economic downturn over the recent years, including the Covid-19 aftermath. This clearly shows that the economic growth of India is bullish and is currently the fastest growing economy in the world.
Viksit Bharat, or Developed India, is the vision of this Government and represents a complete blueprint for the country’s prosperity. This vision will be a guiding principle for India during its Amrit Kaal. The vision encompasses various aspects of development, including economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and good governance.
The four pillars of growth to achieve Viksit Bharat are Yuva (Youth), Garib (Poor), Mahila (Women) and Kisan (Farmers). The vision of Viksit Bharat is that of a prosperous Bharat in harmony with modern infrastructure and nature and giving opportunities for all citizens of all regions to reach their potential. The different aspects of Viksit Bharat are economic growth, environmental sustainability, social progress and good governance.
There is a need to prepare an ambitious, bold and transformative agenda to realise the goals of Viksit Bharat. Some of the suggestions made to achieve this vision need to be incorporated by the new Government immediately in order to keep up the tempo of growth.
Agriculture is the key for any country. India as a country is considered as the largest economy in the world as per the GDP data. The food demand is likely to increase by at least about 2.44% annually until 2047-2048. Hence the Government must make reformative policies to strengthen the agriculture and food processing sector to protect the demand and supply landscape of the agriculture sector and ensure food security and sustainable growth. Need to have the best planning to protect crops and grains from adverse effects of climate change.
Logistics is another parameter which will boost economic progress. As the Indian economy continues to grow and evolve, the importance of efficient and effective movement of goods cannot be unnoticed. In today’s inter-connected world, shipping and logistics stand at the heart of the economy, serving as crucial gateways for international trade and commerce. Especially for agriculture, a more robust mechanism for the cold chain needs to be strengthened at every corner of the regions across India. More international airports located at convenient areas will help promote exporting India products across the globe. It needs integration of technologies and advancements in intra-logistics, automation, warehousing, and transportation management.
Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare keep the country robust and healthy. Manufacturing and end-to-end supply chain management will emerge as pivotal components within the pharmaceutical industry. In today’s competitive landscape, success hinges on the meticulous management of manufacturing operations and supply chain costs to optimise cost-to-serve ratios and minimise inventory levels, all while upholding the highest service standards. The Indian industry can become an integral part of the global pharmaceutical supply chain by making advancement of manufacturing technologies with specific focus on automation and digitalisation, building credibility in the global markets with a commitment to quality, embracing sustainable practices.
Innovation and Research and Development (R&D) will help the country to stay ahead in the race. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is an important component for the industry with respect to privacy of products. Duplicate products, especially in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, are on rise, hence a more stringent mechanism is a must to track and stop this. Rational strategy must be incorporated.
Women empowerment will help achieve targets faster and easily. Capacity building for empowering movement is crucial. This will encourage industries to employ more women and give women a friendly work ambience. Importance must be given to education, skill training, and professional development of women, skilling them to empower and making them capable of becoming entrepreneurs independently.
Energy transition and sustainability is another key aspect in today’s world. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is a framework used to assess an organisation’s business practices and performance on various sustainability and ethical issues. Climate change is a worrisome factor for the world. In order to have sustainability and environment protection, this will give rise to demands for renewable energy like solar, wind and electronic vehicles. The demand for this will rise high hence the need for the right policy frameworks.
Automation through technology will be the need of the day to keep pace with the global standards. The developments in science, technology and innovation will make the country amongst the top scientific powers of the world. For the purpose of transforming the industries robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, synthetic biology will play significant roles.
Infrastructure development has to keep pace bringing in investments and fueling growth. Infrastructure is the key driving force for India’s vision of a $35 trillion economy by 2047.The railway has been one of the most crucial partners in infrastructure development, gearing up for a high-speed network both for the passenger segment as well as for freight movement. This will expect more reformative policy and plans.
The productivity of a country’s economy is closely linked to the proportion of educated workers, as they are better equipped to perform tasks requiring literacy and critical thinking.
Countries worldwide are increasingly prioritising the development of education systems that can equip individuals with the skills needed in emerging industries, particularly in science and technology. The more skilled and knowledgeable employees a firm employs, the greater its production potential.
Economies that recognise education as an asset are often referred to as knowledge-based economies. Given the evolving global work environment, specialising in a single field may no longer suffice, future workers will need diverse knowledge and skill sets.
The National Education Policy of 2020 has taken a practical and progressive approach to address employability and vocational training across all education disciplines. The government should ensure proper implementation of this new education policy.
The writer is a social entrepreneur and passionate educationist Email: rsaawni@gmail.com
