Raju Vernekar
As we move into the 66th year of independence, the rise of India as an emerging global power is certainly an inspiring story. Despite political upheavals and other disturbances, we have always unified as one nation in times of crises and marched towards the growth and development of the nation.
While Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will hoist a tricolor on the ramparts of the historical Red Fort, 21-gun shots will mark the solemn occasion. The newly elected President Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the function.
PM will address the nation and his speech will be followed by march past by divisions of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces. Parades and pageants showcasing events from struggle for independence to the cultural traditions of India will be the special attraction.
The Indian Diaspora too will celebrate the Independence Day in various parts of the world. In many cities in the United States, 15 August has received the nomenclature “India Day” among the Diaspora as well as the local populace.
There will be a magnificent show of solidarity. But where does India stands today? As we are celebrating the I Day, we have also to take note of several issues that plague the largest democracy in the world.
This year the country is beset with worst ever drought in over 12 states. There has been a 20 per cent shortfall in monsoon rains and Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan have been put on the watch. In India over 600 million people depend on farming and agriculture contributes 15 per cent of India’s nearly two-trillion-dollar economy.
Uneven monsoon has resulted in food prices shooting up in most parts of India. The government has planned contingency measures in over 450 districts and a Rs 2000 crore relief package has been announced.
While on one hand the drought has threatened to affect economy, the recent floods in Assam and Uttarakhand have proved that we are unable to face natural calamities even today.
The recent “power black out” due to grid failure in some parts of the state makes one wonder why the attempts are not made for Hydro power generation especially in North Eastern sector where the water is available in abundance.
Also the recent ethnic violence in Assam tore asunder the moral fibre of the society proving that the issues such as communal riots, caste-bias continue to haunt us.
On economic front, first time in the history Rupee has breached the 56 per dollar mark. After the peak recession in 2008-09, Indian Rupee was hovering around 44-46 per dollar mark for almost 2 years. Eventually by March 2012 it dropped to 56.41 against the US dollar, the lowest while compared to the currencies of other developing countries.
Although European crisis is said to be the reason behind down slide, India’s back foot play in refreshing the economic policies due to internal political reason is also the cause of devaluation. The suspense of FDI in multi-brand retail could be better example of this.
Deficit
The reduction in the demand in Europe has adversely hit the Indian exports. This coupled with increase in imports has increased fiscal and current account deficit. Since huge amount is spent on subsidies for fertilizers, food and oil, the deficit gap has widened. Besides series of corruption episodes like Common wealth games has affected the mindset of many foreign investors.
Growth
As for the general growth is concerned, the Indian Economy is expected to grow at 8.75 per cent to 9.25 per cent in the current financial year. The growth rate in agriculture sector is expected to be 5.4 per cent while robust growth in manufacturing and services sectors is expected. But the drought situation may affect the growth.
Inflation
The inflation rate in India has been recorded at 7.25 percent in June this year.. Historically, from 1969 until 2012, Indian Inflation Rate averaged 8.02 per cent reaching an all time high of 34.68 per cent in September 1974.
Fuel
Oil prices started rising much sooner in 2012 than they did in 2011. The price for WTI crude oil reached high of $113.93 a barrel last year and it has been increasing steadily. High oil prices translate to high gas prices.
Population
India’ s population continues to rise and by a fair estimate it is over 122 crore which include 62.8 crore male and 59.14 crore female. Sex ratio is 940 female per 1,000 male. However the issue of female infanticide has created alarming situation surprisingly even in progressive state like Maharashtra.
Literacy
As per 2011 Census, the Literacy rate has now gone up to 74.04 per cent from 65.38 per cent in 2001, showing an increase of 9 percent in the last 10 years.
Today the Kerala with 93.9 percent literacy rate tops the country. Lakshadweep and Mizoram are at second and third position with 92.3 per cent and 91.06 per cent literacy rate respectively. Bihar with 63.08 per cent literacy rate is the last in terms of literacy rate in India.
Schools
India is fast becoming a knowledge economy superpower. A whopping 220 million children are enrolled in schools in the country but 140 million students are left out. India needs at least 2 lakh schools and 1,500 universities and colleges. In the higher education area the shortage of medical and engineering seats is perennial problem in our country.
Unemployment
Over all unemployment rate in the country is stated to be 3.8 percent. Daman, Diu and Gujarat have unemployment rates of 0.6 per cent and one per cent respectively. Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan stand at 3rd and 4th position in the list followed by Punjab, with 1.8 per cent unemployment rate. Punjab has performed better in providing employment than states like Haryana, Delhi and Maharashtra.
Infant mortality rate
The infant mortality rate is stated to be 47.57 deaths per 1,000 live births which includes male: 46.18 deaths/1,000 live births and female: 49.14 deaths/1,000 live births.
Malnutrition
By a fair margin 42 percent of Indian children below 5 years are underweight and the economical losses associated with malnutrition are estimated to be at 3 percent of India’s annual GDP. Despite doubling the size of economy between 1990 and 2005, we have not been able to wipe out the mass hunger which still haunts rural landscapes and lurks in the alley ways of urban slums.
Terrorism
Despite all attempts and creation of newer agencies, internal security leaves much to be desired. A saga of terror which began with 26 November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks ( even before that) goes on as evident from the recent bomb blasts in Pune. Although there was no loss of life, the incident proved that the terrorist outfits are doing enough to indoctrinate youth in the name of religion.
Pakistan’s attempts of infiltration in Kashmir are still on. The recent unearthing of a tunnel dug by Pakistani agencies to clandestinely enter India could be the best example of this. However amid such disturbing atmosphere, revival of drama movement in Kashmir is really satisfying development.
Houses
The country is facing a shortage of over 26 million houses and the housing requirement is expected to pile up to 26.53 million units by the end of the current year. The report, prepared by a technical group of the Ministry of Housing has attributed the increasing housing deficit to the failure of various schemes.
A quick estimate shows that under the Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing, the Urban Poor (ISHUP) as against the target of 3.10 lakh units only 5,038 units were constructed. Under a Rs
792.04 crore Affordable Housing in Partnership Scheme, 14 projects have been approved, but the scheme is yet to take off. Besides, a Rs 23,184.66 crore JNNURM scheme is yet to materialize. Under the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) ( Rs 16,356.35 crore) and the Integrated Housing and Slum Development (IHSDP)( Rs 6,828.31 crore) up till now only 15.6 lakh houses have been constructed.
Defense Preparedness
Amid this scenario, it is heartening to note that India’s progress in defense preparedness and technological missions is quite satisfactory. India recently test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which a flight range of up to 290 km and is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg.
The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and Navy and work is on to develop an air-launched version of the missile to be equipped on the SU-30MKI aircraft.
India has successfully developed its first submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) for the indigenous nuclear submarine ‘INS Arihant’, joining an elite club of nations possessing such weaponry.
Besides the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has received sanctions to pursue the second phase of AEW&CS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System) program. Also the work on first air frame of Mark-2 variant of Tejas fighter aircraft, will start soon and aircraft will be ready for its first flight by 2015.
All sad and done now India should not remain a “developing” country and should become self-reliant with every reform traveling from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Then only we can boast of unity in diversity and have an all round progress.
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