AATMANIRBHAR

BHARAT-SWATANTRA
BHARAT
The 18th century- this was a significant era that marked the infamous
British colonisation over the Indian subcontinent. India, strong as ever,
fought a series of struggles and thus, on the 15 th of August, 1947, the
country was liberated from the British rule. During this fight for
independence, developed the concept of ‘Swadeshi’ which encouraged
domestic production and boycott of foreign goods. This can be closely
related to the vision of our honourable Prime minister,
Shri. Narendra Modi to build a self-reliant nation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major blow to the whole world. It has
resulted in the shutdown of many industries and hence the slump in the
world economy. All the countries have become over dependent on one
another and are not able to meet the demands of their own citizens. While
in India, it is not just the pandemic that has wreaked havoc but other issues
too, such as the border dispute with China, economic strains caused by
multiple lockdowns, increasing number of COVID-19 cases, floods and
other natural disasters in several states. We, as a country, were involved in
the long struggle for ‘Swaraj’ (self-rule), 74 years ago. Should such a
country not be able to stand on its own feet and serve its own people?

India, a diverse country, is the world’s largest democracy and known

worldwide for its constitution which was the longest national constitution
ever adopted. This is what makes the concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat all
the more realistic and achievable. Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-
reliant India Campaign) is a special economic package announced by our
prime minister for all sections of the society, starting from the farmers of
our nation to the large industrialists. It will make the country self-reliant
with the use of local products or as termed by our PM, ‘Go Vocal for
Local’. This feature of Aatmanirbhar Bharat highlights the importance of
local manufacture, local market, and the local supply chain. The economic
package also has provisions to increase efficiency of all our sectors which
will help to produce top-notch quality products. Once this is accomplished,
the country will be prepared to compete in the global supply chain.

The Prime minister, in his address to the nation, said that the country must
move forward with the commitment of bold reforms. The precedent to this
commitment kickstarted with the ban of 59 Chinese apps, including the
famous Tik-Tok app, on the 29th of June, in order to defend the sovereignty
and integrity of India. This may be thought of as a loss for the Indian users
of these apps, but the silver lining is that this is a big-time opportunity for
the Indian app developers to make their mark. In order to promote the
interests of these Indian tech entrepreneurs and start-ups, The Digital
India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge was announced by
the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and MyGov
in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission.

Moreover, India has a vast bio-diversity and its agricultural occupation

contributes to more than 60% of the employment. The population of the
country is its most valuable resource as it is the efforts of these people that
will help to develop the country. Furthermore, the youth are the future of
any country but India has an edge over the other nations because it has the
world’s youngest population. Millennials make up one third of the
country’s population, 46% of the country’s workforce and contribute to
70% of India’s household income. A millennial will act twice as smart as
any other citizen. This is because their prime ambition is to contribute to
their country in every possible way- they buy products that are eco-friendly
or sustainable and at the same time ones that help boost local business. This
has been their mantra long before the launch of Aatmanirbhar policy.

While the concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat promotes self-reliance, it does

not imply that India will isolate itself from the rest of the world, or put an
end to international trade, instead it only suggests that local manufacture
will be promoted more than international as a sign of loyalty towards our
country and international
co-operation will still be maintained.

India achieving self-sufficiency can be seen as the second Independence

Movement as the objective of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is to gain
independence on various fronts. The citizens will be able to live
independently as they will learn to stand up for their needs, politics will
become free and unbiased, inequality of all kinds will be washed out as we
will go down the road of socialism and finally through the efforts to utilize
our own resources, we will be able develop our economy and bring
prosperity to the country. Let us all join hands and convert the vision of
our Prime Minister into an attainable goal.

Jai Hind!