SARA ALTUWAIJRI WRITES – India is one of the world’s poorest countries, with 68.8 percent of the population living on less than 2 dollars a day and more than 30 percent earning less than $1.25 per day. India’s women and children suffer the most.
Is there any hope? Maybe. India aims to end its citizens’ suffering with a vision document to be released on the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. It details plans made by the Modi government to make India corruption-free and poverty-free by 2022.
The vision document has been prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development and NITI Aayog, a policy think tank of India’s Government which aims to achieve sustainable development goals. The document shows how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focused on developments in many sectors, including electricity, health, drinking water and education. It also outlines plans to provide housing for each person by 2022. It’s an ambitious document and plan, but its backers aim to accomplish it all and create Modi’s so-called “ New India 2.0.”
The vision document focuses most on encouraging economic development by creating more opportunities in both agriculture and non-agricultural sectors, improving road connectivity, and building a better supply chain of, housing electricity, and education. As the news agency IANS put it, “’The focus will be on increasing employment by developing rural primary resources and women empowerment. Training and capacity development programs will be conducted in the villages.” That means a big push toward furthering: education, skill development, bank credit, water conservation, health and nutrition, electricity, housing, ODF, waste disposal, road infrastructure, internet capacity, LPG, DBT, social protections for the elderly and widows as well as youth clubs and non-agricultural activities in rural areas.”
Will this vision of 2020 reshape India and lift it out of poverty and corruption? Maybe, if all goes as planned, but that’s a tall order for a big country.