INDIA'S 75-YEAR GROWTH STORY

The 75th anniversary (15th Aug 2022) of India's independence is a day to celebrate our beloved country's achievements.?This nation holds a deep sentiment in our hearts.?As old as the earliest human civilizations, the nation is unique in the world for its cultural diversity. In ancient and medieval times, the nation flourished under different political dynasties.?From 1st century CE till the 17th century, for around 17 centuries, India's GDP always varied between 25 - 35% of the world's GDP. However, the GDP of the nation was just 2% of the world’s GDP in 1947 when it gained independence.

A steep economic growth has been achieved by the nation in the last 75 years, from 1947 to 2022.?We should pause for a moment and salute every individual who worked hard to propel the nation to the world stage.?A fundamental belief of ancient Indians is that the world is one family. In Sanskrit language, it is called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. As a result of this conviction, the country's foreign policy strives to achieve world peace every day.?Defending the nation against unprovoked aggressors is the sole purpose of all defense infrastructure and force. We should be proud to be born into such a great nation and to be part of its growth.

I would like to take a moment to reflect on India's progress over the past 75 years.?The population of India in 1947 was approximately 400 million. The population of India in 1947 was nearly equal to the population of USA today.

• The gross domestic product (GDP) of India was $ 33 billion in 1947. It is $ 3.1 trillion ($ 3100 billion) in 2022.
• The net production of food grains in India was approx., 50 million tons in 1947. It is a massive 320 million tons in 2022.
• The GDP of manufacturing sector was approx., $ 3 billion in 1947. It is $ 85 billion in 2022.
• The GDP of construction sector was negligible in 1947. It is $ 42 billion in 2022.
• The installed capacity of electricity in India was 1,362 MW in 1947. It is 403 GW (403,000 MW) in 2022.
• The total energy generated was 5.1 billion KWH in 1947. It is 1,356 billion KWH in 2022.
• India has around 600,000 villages. The number of villages having access to electricity was 1500 in 1947. Almost all Indian villages have access to electricity in 2022.
• There was no LPG gas for cooking in 1947. LPG gas is used by 289 million families (> 1.2 billion population) in 2022.
• The hotel industry size was negligible in 1947. It is a $ 15 billion industry in 2022.
• The size of travel and tourism industry was negligible in 1947. It is a $ 215 billion industry in 2022.
• The number of telephone connections in India, was 82,000 in 1947. India has the second largest mobile subscribers in the world at 1.2 billion in 2022.
• The total length of National Highways (NHs) in India was 21,378 km in 1947. The length of NHs is 151,000 km in 2022. India now has second largest road network in the world with a total length of about 6,200,000 km.
• The number of registered vehicles was 0.31 million in 1947. There are 295 million registered vehicles in 2022.
• The number of operational airports in India was around 5 in 1947. The number of operational airports is 101 in 2022.
• The number of air passengers was negligible in 1947. The total air passenger count is 150 million in 2022.
• The value of exports of goods and services was USD 0.1 billion in 1947. The exports are at USD 660.5 billion in 2022. In services sector, India has emerged as the top exporter of IT services with $ 150 billion market size.
• The literacy rate was 12% in 1947. Literacy rate is 77% in 2022.
• There were only 50,000 doctors across the country in 1947. There are 1.3 million doctors in 2022.
• The number of health-care centers in the country was 725 in 1947. There are 168,000 health care centers in India in 2022.
• The pharma sector was just a $ 1.2 million industry in 1947. The pharma industry size is $ 42 billion ($ 42,000 million) in 2022.
• There were only 32 medical colleges with 1000 students’ annual intake capacity in 1947. There are a total of 612 medical colleges with 90000 students’ annual intake capacity in 2022.
• There were 36 institutions for engineering education, with an annual intake of 2500 students in 1947. There are a total of 3500 engineering colleges with 1.3 million students’ annual intake capacity in 2022.
• India had 20 universities in 1947. The number of universities are 1026 in 2022.
• India had no space program in 1947. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is one of the six government space agencies in the world which possesses full launch capabilities in 2022. ISRO also helps in launching several foreign satellites. Total number of foreign satellites launched by ISRO: 345 (34 countries). Other key stats of ISRO are, Spacecraft missions: 114, Satellite/Rocket Launch missions: 84, Student satellite launches: 13.
• India had a defense force inherited from British Indian army in 1947. India has one of the world's largest military forces with a strength of over 1.5 million personnel in 2022. It has the fourth largest annual defense budget in the world with indigenously manufactured weapon systems, missiles, naval ships and submarines.

Targets for 100th independence anniversary (2047)

• Safe drinking water is still not accessible to a sizeable section of rural population. The Governments may consider setting up large RO plants across its large coast and lay pipelines to ship water to every nook and corner of the country.
• India’s share of world population is 18%, but its share of world's GDP is just 7.31%. India should aim for at least a share of 18% of world’s GDP to match its population size.
• India is highly dependent on imports for crude petroleum and finished petroleum goods, coal, electronic components, telecom equipment, industrial machinery, electric machinery, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) for the pharma industry. India should focus on becoming self sufficient in all these items either by building internal capability or by identifying alternate products.
• It is a great achievement that 38% of the total energy installation in India comes from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, etc. India should target to improve it to 100%.
• India should move away from petroleum products for vehicles and cooking fuels.
• India should achieve complete self-sufficiency in the manufacture of defense equipment and leverage the strength to achieve lasting world peace.

WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY 15th AUG 2022.

PS: The numbers have been collected from many authentic sites on internet and own judgement has been applied in case of different values. The numbers may be approximate ones in a few cases.