Introduction:
On 15th August 2024, India will celebrate its 78th Independence Day.
India is set to celebrate its 78th Independence Day and 77th Independence Day anniversary on August 15, 2024.
India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress since Independence.
As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.
The Independence Day of India, which is celebrated religiously throughout the Country on the 15th of August every year.
In India holds tremendous ground in the list of national days, since it reminds every Indian about the dawn of a new beginning, the beginning of an era of deliverance from the clutches of British colonialism of more than 200 years.
It was on 15th August 1947 that India was declared independent from British colonialism, and the reins of control were handed over to the leaders of the Country. India's gaining of independence was a tryst with destiny, as the struggle for freedom was a long and tiresome one, witnessing the sacrifices of many freedom fighters, who laid down their lives on the line.
Indian Economic Achievements After 77 Years of Independence, the Govt. of India organized several events “Azadi ki Mohatsav”, with the theme of “Nation first, Always first”.
In 77 years of Independence, India built a modern economy (the second fastest-growing economy) in the world. GDP measures economic strength. India ranks 5th in 2024.
Here I will describe all the details of the Journey of Indian Economic Achievements since 1947.
Here I will describe all the details of the Journey of Indian Economic Achievements since 1947.
India in 1947:-The British rule started in India, from 1600 till 1947. The first East India Company was established, was supported by the British Government, and set up its first plant at Surat in the year 1613 for trading purposes.
It was the battle of Plessey (1757) and Buxar (1764) that provided the ground for the British success in India. Throughout the battle, a long era of British political control over India began in 1947(250 years of British Raj in India).
Due to the Direct Administration of the British Raj for 250 years in India, the economic impact of British Rule was most far-reaching. It destroyed the traditional economy of India and drained India’s wealth from Britain.
The economic policies of the British also affected the classes of peasants, and artisans very adversely. Due to the Indian Military and political activities weakness in India, in the year 1857, the Britishers started their rule in India.
The British policy of Divide and Rule led to the division of the country based on religion. The relationship between the Hindus and Muslims suffered with the British pitching natives against the natives to continue their rule in India until 1947.
Nearly 1.8 billion Indians give their life during the British Raj to free India in the year of 1947. Nearly two centuries Britain drained nearly $45 trillion from India during the British Raj period.
India was one of the largest economies in the world at the time, and a large portion of British wealth came from India during the British Raj.
The important points “Indian Economic Achievements after 77 Years of Independence”
1. GDP:-
In general meaning of GDP means the monetary value of the total final goods and services that are bought by the final user in a country, in a given period.
In 1820, India's GDP was 16% of the global GDP. By 1870, it had fallen to 12%, and by 1947 to 4%.
GDP or “Gross Domestic Product” refers to the monetary value of all goods and services produced in a nation during a given year.
A higher GDP indicates that the country is financially strong and growing at a stable rate. According to the World GDP Ranking 2024 list, India is the fifth largest economy in the world.
Other prominent countries like the United States of America, China, Japan, Germany, etc., have a significant presence in this GDP Ranking list.
India is ranked 5th in the world's GDP rankings in 2024. India's economy boasts diversity and swift growth, fuelled by key sectors such as information technology, services, agriculture, and manufacturing.
At the time of India’s Independence, India’s GDP stood at Rs. 2.7 Lakh crore, which reaches in 2021-22 to Rs.147.35 Lakh Crore.
India is now the fifth-largest economy. As per the report by the Bank of America India will become the largest economy in the world in 2031.
2. Growth of Population & State& Union territory: -
At the time of India’s Independence, the population was 33 Crores. There were only 14 states and 6 Union territories in India.
According to the report, India's population in 2024 is projected at 1.45 billion and this will peak to 1.69 billion in 2054. The current population of India in 2024 is 1,441,719,852, a 0.92% increase from 2023.
Whereas the population in 2022, India has 8 union territories with 28 states. The population in India, by July 2021, is 139,34,09,038 (139 Crore).
3. Growth of Literacy in India:-
For socio socio-economic development of a country, Literacy is the most important factor. The Indian literacy rate was 12.2% in the year of Independence in 1947, and the women's Literacy rate was 6%.
According to the National Survey of India, the Literacy rate of India in 2022 is 77.7%. The male Literacy rate is 84.7% in 2022& women's literacy rate is 71.5%.
4. Growth of Employment opportunities in India:-
As per CMIE data 2022, the unemployment rate was 7.04%, in the urban area it was 8.07, and in the rural area, it was 6.08%. The unemployment rate in the year 1947 was 3.6%.
The unemployment rate in India rose sharply to 9.2 per cent in June 2024 from May 7 % in May 2024, according to CMIE’s consumer Pyramids Household survey.
The Unemployment rate increased in urban India as well as in rural areas.
5. Indian Forex Reserves: -
Indian Forex Reserves, which stood at Rs.1029 Crore in 1950-51, But in 2022 it stands at Rs.46.17 Lakh Crore.
In fact, in the year after the Independence of our country Forex Reserves very low to finance the country’s imports even for just 3 weeks. But today our country India is the world’s fifth largest country all over the world.
India's foreign exchange reserves rose to an all-time high of US$ 648.7 billion as of May 17, 2024, covering 11.4 months of imports and strengthening buffers against external sector risks and adverse spillovers
6. Indian Roadways & Railways:-
Roadways:-As per the figures, the total length of National Highways(NHS) in 1947, when India attained Independence, was about 21,378 Km. But in 2022 the NHS roadways will increase to 1.40 Laks Km.
India now has the second largest road network in the world with a total length of about 62 Lakh km. Road transport accounts for 87% of passenger traffic and 60% of freight traffic movement.
The length of the railway line in terms of Route Kilometres at the time of Independence in 1947 was 25170km Broad Gauge,24153 Meter Gauge & 5370 Narrow Gauge.
But in 2022. Under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways, the Government of India operates India’s national railway system.
It manages the fourth largest national railways in the world by size, with a total route length of 67956 km. as of 31 March 2022.
The Union Budget highlights concerning the Indian Railways are mentioned below:
A total of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been earmarked in capital expenditure for the Indian Railways in the Union Budget 2023-24. This is approximately nine times the amount spent in fiscal year 2013-14.
7. Growth in Export:-
The total export (Merchandise plus Services) was $ 778.2 billion in 2023-24 as compared to USD 776.4 billion in 2022-23, registering a marginal growth of 0.23 per cent.
This was the highest-ever export from India despite an unfavourable global economic situation.1
India’s export valued at only $1 billion in 1947 constituted roughly 2.5% of total world exports.
However, in 2022, India’s economic achievements will grow more in 75 years. India’s top 10 export sectors are as follows:-
1. Mineral fuels including oil:-US$6.billion (14.3%) of total export.
2. Gems, precious metals:-$38.2 billion(9.7%) of total export
3. Machinery including computers:-$24.2 billion (6.1%) of total export
4. Iron & Steel:-$21.2 billion (5.4%) of total export
5. Organic chemicals:-$21.2 billion (5.4%) of total export
6. Pharmactuals:-$19.5 billion (4.9%) of total export.
8. Service Sector Growth :-( IT, Telecom, Banking & Insurance):-
IT SECTOR:- The Indian IT software and services industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the Indian economy, with a growth rate exceeding 50 % in exports and 40 % in the total IT industry.
Due to IT company's progress in India, India’s GDP increased from 1.2% in 1998 to 8 in 2018 & 7.7% in 2020
TELECOM SECTOR: - Telecommunication in India began with the introduction of the telegraph. The Indian postal and telecom sectors are one of the world’s oldest telecommunication.
The first telecom license in 1994 was BPL( BPL Telecom), Later it rebranded as Loop Mobile in 2009 and ceased operation in 2014.
In 1995, ESSAR Cell Phones first company to start GSM operations in Delhi. In 2022, the Gross revenue of the telecom sector of India stood at Rs.64, 801 Crore(US$8.74 BILLION) in the first quarter of FY-2022.
BANKING SECTOR: - The first bank in India to be nationalized was the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), in the year 1949. Again 14 other banks were nationalized on July 19, 1969. the 14 commercial banks deposit only 50 Crores.
But in 2022 Banks' credit grew up to 120.46lakh crore and deposits were Rs.166.95 Lakh crore. At present, 34 private banks& Public banks are running in India under the guidance of RBI.
INSURANCE SECTOR Oriental Insurance Company Limited was incorporated in Mumbai on 12th September 1947. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oriental Government Security Life Assurance Ltd. Initially it was formed to carry out the General Insurance Company in the country.
Before India's Independence, 245 insurance companies operating in the country were merged into one entity. The Life Insurance Corporation of India.
The General Insurance Business Act of 1972 was enacted to nationalize about 107 general insurance companies then and subsequently merged into four companies.
At the end of the financial year 2021, there were 67 insurance operating in India. Out of these, 24 were life insurance, 27 were general insurance and five were standing alone for health insurance.
8. SCHOOL, COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY GROWTH:-
As of June 2024, there are 171 Institutes of National Importance under various Acts of Parliament.
These INIs include 23 IITs, 20 AIIMSs, 21 IIMs, 31 NITs, 25 IIITs, 7 IISERs, 7 NIPERs, 5 NIDs, 3 SPAs, 2 NIFTEMs, 10 Central universities, 4 Medical research institutes, and 13 other specialized institutes.
In the year 1950, there were 2.10lakh primary schools in 1950-51, the number of middle schools was 13600 and higher secondary schools were 7416. In 1950, there were 27 universities and 498 colleges in the country.
But as of 2022, India has over 45,000 degree colleges, over 1026 universities and around 1500 top institutions.
As of February 2016, there are 342 state universities, 125 Deemed to be universities and 46 Central Universities. The total reaches 513. Government Universities.
A total of 3500 engineering colleges,(including IIT AND NIT) & 612 Medical colleges in India as of 2022. There are a total of 22 IIMs presently running in India.
9. Growth of the Agricultural sector in India:-
Before its Independence, India’s 95% economy was based on agriculture and the income generated from agricultural production like Rice & Wheat. Around 85% of the population lived in villages; small towns are all dependent on agriculture.
In the year FY (21-22) the gross value added to the agricultural sector was 3 Lakh Crore (US38.72 Billion) gross values added until 31 January 2022.
According to the estimate, the share of the agricultural and allied sectors in total
GVA has improved to 20.2 per cent in 2020-21 and 18.8% in 2021-22.
The Govt. of India 2022-23, set an export target of the agricultural products USD23.56 BILLION for agricultural and processed products.
India is the world's largest producer of milk, pulses and jute, and ranks as the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, fruit and cotton.
10. Growth of Industrial Sector in India:-
The proportion of GDP contributed by the industrial sector increased in the period by 11.8 per cent from 1950-51 to 24.6 per cent in 1990-1991. The rise in the industry share GDP is an important indicator of the development of a country.
India has a retail market worth $1.17 trillion, which contributes over 10% of India’s GDP. It is also one of the World’s fastest-growing e-commerce markets in future.
According to the Ministry of Macro, Small & Medium Enterprises, India at present more than 7.9 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as of 27th March 2022.
The industrial sector accounts for around 27.6% of India’s GDP and it employs over 17% of the total workforce in the country.
India's industrial production increased to 3.8% in December 2023, up from 2.4% in November, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Factory output growth was 5.1% in December 2022, while IIP growth was 6.1% during April-December 2023-24.
11. Military Defense Force Growth of India:-
The Indian Army in August 1947 was only 4, 00,000. However the political leadership was keen to reduce the strength to save defence expenditure and hence it was decided to bring it down to 2, 00,000 after the Jammu Kashmir operation.
India has huge military spending, which is $76.6 billion, ranked third in the world. With a strength of over 1.4 million active personnel, it is the world’s second-largest military force and has the world's largest volunteer army. Active Military personnel -1.4 Million making it the second largest after China.
India’s defence budget Appx 71 Billion dollars making it the 3rd largest after the US. And China.
In addition to this, India achieved its highest-ever growth in defence production value of approximately Rs 1.27 lakh crore in 2023-24.
The value of defence production in FY 2022-23 was Rs 1,08,684 crore.
12. Access to Electricity in Rural Indian areas:-
In India, access to electricity is one of the goals of India’s socio-economic policymaking. According to the Ministry of Power, only 3061 villages in India had access to electricity in the year 1950.
Indian government announced in 2018, that there are 5, 97.464 villages in India that have been electrified. Till today only 10% of villages in India have been electrified.
The NFHS-5 report released in March last year showed that 97% of India's households have electricity - 95% of rural and 99% of urban. Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, MP, Arunachal Pradesh, UP and Assam were among the major states that showed major improvement.
13. Foreign Direct Investment in India:-
In the pre-liberalized “License Raj in India,” foreign Investment was limited to almost zero. In 1948, the total foreign Investment in India was Rs256 Crores only.
Since 1991, the economic linearization policy FDI has become the buzzword for India’s economic story. In the year 2020-21, India received a record $US81.72 Billion in Foreign Direct Investment.
Total FDI inflows in the country in the FY 2023-24 is $70.95 Bn and total FDI equity inflows stand at $44.42 Bn. Mauritius (25%), Singapore (23%), USA (9%), Netherlands (7%) and Japan (6%) emerge as the top 5 countries for FDI equity inflows into India FY 2023-24.
14. Simplification of Taxation rule as “one Nation one Tax”:-
The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 show that Net collections are at Rs. 19.58 lakh crore, compared to Rs. 16.64 lakh crore in the preceding Financial Year i.e. FY 2022-23, representing an increase of 17.70%.
GST-implement in India, 1st July 2017 for simplification of Indirect Tax in our country. The tax rate simplifies all businessmen into one tax rule to one Nation policy.
Before implementation, the Indian taxation rule was so complicated for all business personnel.GST merges all the Indirect Tax of Central Tax, Excise duty, entry tax, services tax, additional duty tax
and so on.
Rs.20.18 Lakh Crore Strong Consistent Performance in FY 2023-24: FY 2023-24 marks a milestone with total gross GST collection of Rs. 20.18 lakh crore exceeding ₹20 lakh crore, an 11.7% increase compared to the previous year.1
Conclusion:
The Chief Economic Advisor, V Nageswaran said on June 8th at New Delhi (ANI): The size of the Indian economy will be $5 trillion in 2026-27. This will be likely to become $20 trillion by 2040.
Achieving 8 per cent GDP growth each year in the next decade and growing India's GDP to $19 trillion by 2047.
Creating 90 million jobs by 2030 and 600 million jobs by 2047. investing about $600 billion annually to transition to a net-zero world by 2050.
The Prime Minister of India hoists the Indian flag every year at the Red Fort on the Independence Day. After that, the Honourable Prime Minister delivers a speech by acknowledging the people of India, their sacrifices, achievements, challenges, as well as the vision of the government for the country.
The hoisting of the national flag is a symbolic expression of the country's development as an independent nation as well as the end of the British rule. The event at the Red Fort is a way to honor and pay tribute to the freedom fighters who gave their lives so that India could be free.
The celebration of Independence Day at the Red Fort also consists of the excellent cultural performances by artists from various parts of the country. All these performances highlights the diverse cultural heritage of Indian through dance, music, and various other traditional art forms. These performances create an energetic and patriotic ambiance that heightens the celebrational mood of the event.
