Introduction
India is steadily marching towards the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' or Developed India by 2047, as laid out by the government. For India to become a leading economic powerhouse globally, transforming key sectors like technology, transparency, communication, health and human resource development will be critical over the next 25 years. These sectors can significantly boost productivity, efficiency, innovation, and human welfare. The government has announced several policy measures, programs and budgets to drive progress in these sectors.
Technology Advancements
Technology will serve as a force multiplier for rapid and inclusive development in India. The government aims to harness emerging technologies across sectors to boost transparency, accountability, connectivity, healthcare access and skill development.
Key focus areas:
- Digital India: With pillars of digital infrastructure, digital delivery of services, and digital empowerment, Digital India aims for universal digital literacy and easy access to online services. The budget for 2022-23 is ₹61,930 crore.
- Make in India: Launched in 2014, this initiative promotes domestic design, manufacturing and innovation across 25 sectors including electronics, telecom and IT products. The aim is for the digital economy to reach $1 trillion by 2025.
- Smart Cities Mission: Investing ₹2.05 lakh crore to transform 100 cities into smart cities by 2024 using digital connectivity, intelligent traffic management, e-governance and technology-driven citizen services.
- Emerging Technologies: National Artificial Intelligence mission, blockchain-based governance, commercial 5G rollout, additive manufacturing, nanotechnology and quantum computing are being strategically adopted for socio-economic progress.
- Electronics Manufacturing: Schemes like M-SIPS and EMC 2.0 with incentives of ₹21,300 crore aim to build a $300 billion electronics manufacturing industry in India by 2025-26.
Transparency and Accountability
The government aims to improve transparency, accountability and ease of governance through technology-led reforms.
Initiatives include:
- JAM Trinity: Jan Dhan financial inclusion, Aadhaar unique ID and Mobile connectivity provide a transparent digital identity and access to government benefits and subsidies to citizens.
- Government e-Marketplace: Launched in 2016, GeM is an online procurement platform with over 50 lakh products and 20,000 buyer and seller organizations. It aims to bring transparency and efficiency in public procurement.
- DBT Schemes: 61 central schemes have migrated to Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfers based on JAM, saving ₹2.23 lakh crore by eliminating leakage and duplication as of 2022.
- RTI Act 2005: Enables citizens to seek information on government records and data to enhance transparency. Online RTI portals are improving access.
- E-governance: Digitalization of government services through online portals, apps and ICT systems reduces red tape and improves access.
The Digital India program, cashless economy initiatives, online citizen engagement platforms like MyGov and budgetary reforms like merger of railway budget aim to enhance accountability, trust and ease of living.
Communication Infrastructure
World-class communication infrastructure will drive digital inclusion, bridge urban-rural divide, and enable innovation across sectors.
Key government initiatives:
- BharatNet: This national broadband project aims to provide 100 Mbps broadband connectivity to all village panchayats through optical fibre by 2025. Over 1.7 lakh panchayats connected so far in Phase I and II.
- 5G Launch: 5G spectrum auctions conducted in 2022 at ₹1.5 lakh crore. 5G rollout has commenced, aiming for countrywide coverage over the next 2-3 years.
- MeitY Programs: Schemes like Champion Services Sector to promote IT adoption in education, health and skills; Information Security Education and Awareness to nurture 500 PhDs in cyber security.
- Public WiFi Hotspots: Bharat WiFi aims to establish 2 million WiFi hotspots covering 600,000 villages by 2022 for low-cost internet access.
- Digital Villages: Over 1 lakh villages digitally connected through Common Service Centres for e-services on education, health, banking etc.
The communication infrastructure aims to improve productivity, bridge the digital divide, provide open government data access, and enable last-mile service delivery across India.
Healthcare Rejuvenation
Improving healthcare access and quality will be fundamental for human development. The National Health Policy 2017 aims to increase life expectancy to 70 years and reduce infant mortality to 28 by 2025.
Key government initiatives:
- Ayushman Bharat: Launched in 2018, it aims to provide health coverage of ₹5 lakh per family annually to over 50 crore vulnerable individuals for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Budget 2022 allocated ₹64,180 crore.
- AIIMS Expansion: 22 new AIIMS being established across India between 2015-2025 with an outlay of ₹15,765 crore to improve access to speciality and super speciality care.
- Digital Health: National Digital Health Mission launched in 2020 establishes health IDs for citizens and enables national portability of health records. Digital registries of doctors and health facilities being developed.
- COVID management: Aarogya Setu app for contact tracing; CoWIN portal for vaccination rollout. Telemedicine guidelines introduced in 2020 for remote consultations.
- Budget 2022: 137% increase in allocation for health sector at ₹86,606 crore. Focus on pandemic preparedness, regional AIIMS, critical care training and mental health.
- National Health Policy: It envisages 2.5% of GDP public spending on health by 2025. Currently it stands at 1.2%.
- Infrastructure: Target to increase public health centres to 35,000 by 2025 from 25,743 in 2020; primary health centres to 15,000 from 5,895. Supporting wellness clinics, Jan Aushadhi stores for low-cost drugs supply etc.
Strategic public investments, technology adoption and public-private partnerships in healthcare over the next 25 years will improve access, reduce costs and achieve sustainable universal health coverage in line with Sustainable Development Goals.
HRD for Demographic Dividend
India has one of the world's youngest populations with a median age of 28 years. To convert this demographic dividend into a growth driver, developing human capital is essential. The government is focused on improving access to education, skills and employment.
Key HRD initiatives:
- New Education Policy 2020: Aims to increase public education spending to 6% of GDP. Focus on foundational literacy, vocational exposure, flexibility in course choices, teaching in mother tongue and digital education.
- Skill India: Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and other programs aim to train over 400 million people in varied skills by 2022 to enable livelihoods and entrepreneurship. Over 5.5 crore people trained between 2015-2022.
- Digital Saksharta Abhiyan: Launched in 2020 to provide digital literacy to 6 crore rural citizens including 1 crore farmers.
- HEFA: Higher Education Financing Agency provides low-cost funds for infrastructure in premier institutions like IITs, IIMs, IISERs to improve teaching and research capabilities.
- Online Education: SWAYAM, Swayam Prabha DTH channels and PM eVIDYA initiative during COVID-19 are driving remote and digital learning.
- Gender Inclusion: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme for female literacy and empowerment; Sabarimala judgement enabling temple entry for women.
- Employment: Schemes like Make in India, Startup India, Standup India, GST regime aim to boost job creation and entrepreneurship. 4 crore jobs added between 2017-2022.
Strategic skilling programs, improving teaching and research quality in higher education, enabling life-long learning opportunities and increasing women's participation aim to build a productive workforce for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Budgetary Allocations
In line with its vision for technology-led growth and human development, the government has steadily increased budget allocations for these key sectors:
- Digital India: From ₹3,073 crore in 2015-16 to ₹6,388 crore in 2022-23. Share increased from 3% of IT budget to over 10% in 2022.
- Electronics Manufacturing: Budget outlay increased from ₹11 crore in 2014-15 to ₹21,300 crore in 2022 for schemes like M-SIPS, EMC 2.0 that aim to grow this sector to $300 billion by 2025.
- BharatNet: ₹19,000 crore budget in 2022-23 for broadband connectivity to villages.
- Health: 137% increase in 2022-23 budget to ₹86,606 crore. 2.5X increase in health budget over 2014-15 outlay of ₹33,651 crore.
- Education: Budget increased from ₹69,074 crore in 2014-15 to ₹1.04 lakh crore in 2022-23.
Expected Outcomes
The government's strategic roadmap and increased investments aim to achieve the following outcomes:
- Expanding the digital economy contribution to 25% of GDP by 2025 and 50% by 2030 through Digital India initiatives
- Achieving universal broadband access with 50 Mbps+ speeds across villages by 2025
- Increasing mobile and internet penetration from current 71% and 45% respectively to over 90% by 2030
- Building a $1 trillion digital economy and $5 trillion economy by 2025 through Make in India
- Ranking among Top 50 countries globally in e-government development index compared to 107 currently
- Reducing bureaucratic red tape and improving India from 66th place in ease of doing business rankings currently to under 30 by 2030
- Increasing health expenditure as % of GDP from 1.2% to 2.5% by 2025 and reaching universal health coverage
- Raising life expectancy from 69 years to 75 years by 2047
- Reducing infant mortality from 28 deaths per 1000 live births to under 10 by 2047
- Building a skilled workforce of 500 million by 2030 through vocational education programs
- Increasing GER in higher education from 27% to over 50% by 2035
- Improving gender parity index from 0.94 in 2021 to 1 by 2030
- Creating 100 million additional jobs by 2025 to positively harness demographic dividend
In summary, the government aims to achieve rapid, sustainable, and technology-driven progress across transparency, communications, healthcare and education sectors to build a Atmanirbhar Bharat contributing 5% of global GDP by 2047. Ease of living for citizens will improve remarkably via efficient public service delivery on education, health and justice riding on infrastructure built through Digital India. Progress on human development indices like literacy, mortality rates and transparency will accelerate in the run up to 2047. realizing Sustainable Development Goals. Collaborative efforts between public and private sector will remain crucial to fully realizing the Vision of Viksit Bharat.
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