While the coronavirus gradually spread over parts of China, all countries prepared for a problem that no one had expected. However, shortly after the coronavirus struck Italy, Spain, and the United States, the virus spread to India, and India was placed on complete lockdown for many days, much to our delight. There was unease, fear, and uncertainty among the public and companies when this pandemic arrived with various novel titles, such as lockdown and quarantine, to a population of 1.2 billion Indians. As a result, the government has implemented several daring changes and steps to save lives while maintaining the country's economy. The Prime Minister's campaign for SELF-RELIANCE was hailed by every Indian among these reforms.
The term 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' means self-sufficient India. In his speech, the Prime Minister stated that the only way to realise India's aim of becoming self-sufficient in the twenty-first century is to ensure the country's independence.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the country's decision to use two made-in-India vaccines against COVID-19 demonstrates the country's desire to be self-sufficient and is a significant step forward in the fight against the pandemic.
India's self-reliance programme would benefit the entire world, as evidenced by India's recent exports of two made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines to several countries, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mentioned a group of tribal women in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, who formed a self-help group after purchasing a rice mill where they had previously worked, and a young woman in Jhansi who is farming strawberries despite severe weather circumstances. He praised Gurleen Chawla, a law student in Jhansi, for organising a month-long Strawberry Festival, saying that such trials not only illustrate the spirit of creativity but also how the country's agriculture industry is adopting new technologies. “The government is committed to modernising agriculture and is taking many steps in that direction. The efforts of the government shall continue in future,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. He made no mention of the current farmer protests around the country, though. During the Mann ki Baat programme, it was also mentioned how a small vegetable market in Boinpalli, Hyderabad, was using rotten vegetables to generate electricity and biogas, which was utilised to power the market as well as cook at the market's cafeteria. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that over 10 tonnes of trash generated there is used to generate 500 units of power and roughly 30 kilogrammes of biofuel every day.
Five Pillars of a Self-reliant India
The country's effort toward self-sufficiency will be fuelled by bold reforms across sectors. The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is built on five fundamental pillars to help India prosper and become self-sufficient.
Economy: considers a quantum leap rather than an incremental adjustment to turn current difficulty into an advantage.
Infrastructure can be viewed as a symbol of modern India or as the country's identity.
Systems: 21st-century technology that isn't built on outdated rules.
Democracy: A lively democracy that provides the energy for India to become self-sufficient.
Demand: This is where the strength of our demand and supply chains is put to good use.
Way Forward
Given the underlying difficulties and opportunities, becoming competitive in the pursuit of self-reliance is critical.
Promoting Local: Being vocal for “local” is a key complement of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. People must internalise the concept of respecting and promoting local items and artefacts in this setting. Only then will the ambition of turning "Local" India into a "Glocal" India become a reality. MSMEs would become a hot cake for impact investors after COVID, thus the government should adopt further ease-of-doing-business measures to attract and retain investors in the MSME community. Because small businesses are typically the riskiest, a mixed-finance model would be an appropriate de-risking approach for investors, the government, and business owners.
Favourable Policy: Competition, in general, boosts efficiency and innovation. Crony capitalism, on the other hand, undermines local competitiveness by diverting resources away from more efficient and technologically advanced businesses. As a result, governments should promote domestic competitiveness while avoiding crony capitalism.
Support Control of Critical Value Chains: India would not be able to become self-sufficient unless it has control over both domestic and international supply chains. As a result, increased control over key sectors of the global value chain is required to safeguard strategic interests, particularly in healthcare, agriculture, and defence.
Strengthen Public Procurement: Suppliers have already benefited from initiatives such as mandatory e-tendering and the formation of the Government Electronic Marketplace. These systems should be reinforced even further by reducing the time it takes to complete the public procurement "quote to cash" cycle.
Focusing on Comparative Advantage: India can concentrate on one area in which it can differentiate itself, attract international and domestic investors, and establish itself as a leader. 3D (additive) manufacturing, robots, and automation may be the next big thing for India. Because these technologies combine manufacturing and information technology, India's technological leadership provides a platform for the country to become a global leader in this field.
Innovation centricity: India must strengthen its innovation ecosystem and enable it to reach out to the last mile to empower rural communities through a variety of entrepreneurial models. If properly groomed, India will lead the way in delivering low-cost products by lowering the total cost of ownership while simultaneously boosting product robustness, user-friendliness, and economies of scale.
Bringing investment in Research & Development: Increased public-private research cooperation is critical since research and development are critical to increasing the economy's self-sufficiency. If properly cultivated, such alliances will reduce India's reliance on Multinational Corporations (MNCs) for innovation, allowing our products to compete in a more worldwide market. Bringing investment in Research & Development Increased public-private research cooperation is critical since research and development are critical to increasing the economy's self-sufficiency. If properly cultivated, such alliances will reduce India's reliance on Multinational Corporations (MNCs) for innovation, allowing our products to compete in a more worldwide market.
References
https://www.investindia.gov.in/team-india-blogs/indias-self-reliant-world-post-covid-19
https://www.investindia.gov.in/team-india-blogs/indias-self-reliant-world-post-covid-19
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/in-pursuance-of-self-reliance