Self-reliance (atma-nirbhar) has become a buzzword in India very quickly. The idea has propagated to Indian industry and economy like a wild fire. It is indeed our blessing that we were able to do this, at this hour when we are plagued with the pandemic and also some neighboring boundary sharing issues. With the increase in demand for ventilators coupled with import restrictions, we have understood the wealth of intellectual resources available within our country. It has increased home-grown talents and expanded our often criticized out-of-the-box thinking. There was a recent release of several indigenous mobile application that will replace the prevailing apps from elsewhere. Indian dream being a developed nation, will soon be a reality if our farmers, knowledge workers, R & D centers and academicians can synchronously pursue this vision. Alongside we will require support from global contributors and the Indian diaspora. Soon India will be able to stand in shoulder with several global giants, and also act as a consulting entity for several matters of global importance. Our goal should be to lend our understanding about holistic lifestyle, society oriented leadership, ethical living and transparency. We have shown to the world about the important aspect of technology and its role in empowerment and inclusiveness.
In the following series of points, I would like to outline how India can leverage the current situation to the fully realize its development dream. Our focus as a country should be primarily on agriculture, industry and energy sectors. Agricultural reforms should embrace technology and there should be more youth involved for realizing the new agricultural revolution, with a blend of technology and best practices. Current Indian agricultural sector is filled with several regional and distributional disparities. These disparities can be effectively managed through the use of digital services. In Kerala, we have achieved the feet of digital ration card system (with biometric verification) where the ration is allotted only to the authorized card holder. Through this we have learnt that technology can play an integral role in ensuring transparency and inclusiveness. In other parts of the country we have seen how farm products are getting sold in the market through e-commerce. The plethora of handicrafts and handloom products available in the popular e-commerce websites is a clear signal on the increasing demand for local products.
The role of the Indian industries to realize the dream of a developed nation is very crucial. For this dream to lift off, innovation is a key player. To ignite the innovation culture in the Indian minds, we need to nurture the seeds of creativity right from grassroot levels. Most Indians consider, it is better to 'settle' in a job, and it is the duty of the Government to supply them with facilities. This risk-averse attitude will not help in the long run. And we can see a glimpse of this change emerging in the context of the youth, where we can see the creative energy budding in the form of startups, MSMEs etc. Increased impetus on hackathons and other events, is truly encouraging the youth to join the force for self reliance. However, it is the duty of every Indian to keep this spirit high, and work hard to realize the dream of developed India. The current pandemic has taught us several lessons, such as the importance of education, the need for innovation in communication technologies, and most importantly to have a moderate lifestyle. While leading the road of development, one should not leave behind the responsibility for sustaining the environment. We should seek help from environmental and social leaders to adopt the best practices while implementing the developmental projects.
Our core strength lies in the youth of this nation, and it is the youth who can lead the change. To build a strong youth force of innovators, our academic system should be equipped to train students in the best possible manner. Education should focus on character building, skill development and bringing the uniqueness in every individual. One should not be drawn towards the hefty salaries alone while choosing the career path. Instead one should invest her/his core competencies and skills in the service of the nation and humanity as a whole. There is a large corpus of knowledge available in our land, and it is our duty to nourish this knowledge by practicing it and using it in the service of the humanity. The future of academic institutions should be placed in the platform of collaborative research. And the higher learning institutions should be given a chance to interact with the government and the industry to realize the dream of developed India. Team work is the buzzword in technology implementation. Our academic centers need to excel in this art of team building, allowing collaborations at every level. For teams allow to constantly ignite the spirit of innovation and also drives away personal ego, that is a huge barrier that deters the progress.
I wish to conclude with the words of Kalam, "We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us".
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