Many visionaries and politicians have promised about India becoming a developed nation by the year 2020, and just like any other election promise it will be a dream for many Indians who believed. The definition of being a developed nation varies from person to person and there is no universal understanding as to what it means. In a dynamic world, the already developed nations are progressing and the developing nations have to move faster to come closer the levels of developed nations. If a nation can protect its citizens from external and internal disturbances and including during/after natural calamities it can be called a developed nation. The disturbances can be financial, food, employment, security lapses, health etc which are required for the peaceful existence of the citizens of a community.By this definition there is no one nation that can be called developed, but the achievement levels are different and thus a scale be obtained.
It is always good for an individual and also for the nation to work on its strengths first rather on than its weakness. India has been a agricultural economy and it is the strength of this nation. Even though there is enough food in our country there are more than 40% people who are undernourished. The food distribution system should be improved and everyone should be provided with food at a fair price. If the price is too low then people will be lazy to work. If lack of food is the reason for malnourishment, then lack of employment is the source of this problem. The successive governments have kept on neglecting the agricultural sector and created a rot in the system. The results are farmer suicides due to excessive debts, inlfation due to gaps in supply of agricultural produce and too many middle men.
Agriculture in India is mostly dependent on rainfall. Much collabaration has to be done with foreign nations who have mastered the art of using minimal water for irrigation. The technology has imported and then to be modified to suit the indian demands and the crop should be indegeneous. Scientific methods of farming has to be restarted and dependence on pesticides should be reduced by taking up organic farming which will keep the soil fertile in the long run. Instead of working in this parth, the governments successively have taken an easy way out by giving subsidies for the short term gains. Electrol politics have made the agricultural system excessively dependent on the government subsidies. The minimum price, loan wavier all nothing but the mechanism of looting the innocent farmers.
The government now says that Walmart and others will improve the system. They will only further create uncurable rot in our already rotten system. The agriculture being the backbone of the economy is left by the government which is a difficult sector and hard work is needed. But instead the government wants to control oil companies, airlines, railways etc, which have become money draining units because of the mishandling of the governments. The government has the immediate task of reviving the agricultural system of the nation, by investing heavily for building infracture for collection, storage and distribution of the produce. But many governments in the near future will not able to do this becaue of the impending elections, then the dream of a developed nation will continue to remain in the imaginary realm.
Water in the form of rainfall, canal water through perennial rivers, dams, reservoirs, water table etc is important for the survival. The water resources availabe in our nation have not been utilized to the fullest extent and there is always shortages and excesses year after year. This is causing enormous amounts of loss in the form human lives, property loss, etc. The amoung of money governments are spending year after year as damage compensation could be used to prevent some of these calamities. The internal water management is another area where there can be dissents in the near future. The GRAND IDEA OF INTERLINKING OF THE RIVERS has to be taken up for implementation if it serves the national interests and it will balance the shortages and excesses that are caused periodically. For any national interest, there will be fringe elements who will boycott and show dissent. When the methodology of talk, convince, provide good compensation for rehabilitation donot work, then use of force to achieve the goals is the alternate option. A few groups of people cannot keep the national interests at risk. This may look like a dictatorship type of government, but a leader has to use force when required adn when the otherside stands beyond reasoning.
The purity of the river water has to be improved which are currently in a highly polluted state. Many of the rivers are acting like the waste carriers of the industries, sewage of the city. Enough treatment plants have to be started and citizens be educated about not throwing waste into the rivers. The nation has allowed the industries to have a free run to the industries, who have polluted everything including soil, water, air, etc. Strict measures have to be implemented so that the pollution by the industries is reduced if not eliminated. Because the effects of the pollution will only be felt in the long term, and by which time the industries will lift their shops and settle to smaller and weaker nations where there are less pollution control norms to keep costs low and profits maximum. The water for drinking for the whole nation may not be supplied by the rivers only, so the requirements of desalination plants may arise, and the government has to work proactively in this line. The unnecessary wastage of money in the way of poll gifts be avoided and long infracture has to be setup with that money for the future of this nation.
The interlinking of rivers apart from helping the agriculture will also solve the drinking water problems. With agriculture revived, the distribution should also be improved with enough infracture to feed every hungry mouth and drink potable water. The advantages of well fed citizens is the lesser problems in regards to the health. The dual advantages can make the citizens lazy due to cheap and good quality food source available. But the prices should be kept so that those who work can feed themselves and their family. Very few people donot aspire to grow and those who asprie will start savings their money and this will only improve the overall economy. Unless water and food security is ensured, there wil always going to be cumulative problems which have to solved to realize Bharat 2020.
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