Building New India – Role of citizens

In a remote village situated on the banks of the Yamuna, a young boy named Raju from a Pachayat School was persuading his community members not to defecate in the open. He had a spark in his eyes, a constant smile on his face and an indomitable desire to bring about a meaningful change in his village.

The above story is one among many others that are transforming and reimagining India. The honourable Prime Minister has given a vision for creating a New India by 2022 when India would complete 75 years of its independence. In this context, Niti Aayog- the premier think tank of the country, has come up with the Strategy for New India. The success of this strategy is incumbent upon the active participation of fellow citizens in socio-economic development and also upon their pro-activeness in upholding the constitutional ideals especially the Fundamental duties as enshrined in Article 51A of the Indian Constitution.

In this essay, we will understand the nature and definition of New India and how citizens can play a major role in achieving it. Then we will analyze the concerns and challenges that may obstruct the citizens in working towards a New India. Finally we will look at some sustainable and feasible solutions towards building an India of our dreams.

What is New India?

New India is about achieving the vision of our Union as envisaged in the Preamble to the Constitution. It constitutes an endeavour to achieve justice(social, economic, political), equality of opportunity, liberty, fraternity, unity, integrity and safeguarding national interests and sovereignity of the country. To achieve such lofty ideals in real life, New India would also have to mean good governance that works on the principles of efficiency, economy, effectiveness, ethics and ethos. One of the key pillars of ensuring good governance is the participation of civil society that includes non state actors as well as individuals.

How can dutiful citizens lead us to New India?

Socially, it is the moral and ethical duty of all citizens to empower one another and be agents of change. For instance, thousands of mentors enrolled voluntarily with Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission to foster critical thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset among school students. Surely, a problem solving approach to education based on Gandhiji’s principles of Nai Taleem would nudge the society towards a New India.

Economically, it is the responsibility of a law abiding citizen to pay her taxes on time especially the corporate and income tax. Moreover, adhering to highest standards of corporate governance and ethics in business would also mean better corporate culture and a subsequent increase in FDI inflows leading to more employment and higher living standards for an aspirational population. Clearly, economic superiority of nation will give a fillip to the vision of New India. 

Politically, citizens can play their part in strengthening grassroots democracy by partaking in capacity building of Panchayati Raj functionaries. For instance, students as well as professionals engage with NGO’s such as Participatory Research in Asia(PRIA) to build leadership and management skills in Gram Sabhas so that they can frame effective Development Plans and conduct effective social audits to hold the government accountable. Surely, constructive involvement of urban India to uplift and empower rural India will bridge the India-Bharat divide scripting an inspiring story of New India.

Technologically, research scholars, students, teachers from all fields including medicine, engineering, bio-technology etc can help solve many socio-economic problems of the country including hunger, poverty, health, climate change, impact of disasters etc. For instance, scholars of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology(CCMB) have recently developed a new variant of rice- Samba Masoori, which is resistant to biotic and abiotic stress and consumes less water. Such innovations can alleviate rural distress for farmers as well as pave the way for sustainable development and inclusive growth. Clearly, citizens doing their duties diligently can help New India achieve its 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) by 2030.

With respect to law and order, internal security and integrity of the country, citizens have a major role to play in community policing that is by becoming eyes and ears of the local and state police. For instance, Cyberabad in Telangana maintains its own social media accounts where citizens share their grievances and report issues. Moreover, students enrolling in NCC, corporates and celebs donating to families of martyred Jawans are some other ways in which individual citizens safeguard the unity and integrity of the country further strengthening the image of New India.

With respect to administration, citizens can contribute their expertise and skills to enhance the efficiency of governance especially in the domain of e-governance. For instance, OpenForge under National e-Governance Plan makes government date accessible to participants of Open Hackathons. Recently, hackathons to develop and improve algorithms of Grievance Redressal Management System were held all across the country. Surely, using data as a public good to promote date-led governance will not only improve the ease and quality of public service delivery but will also refine public policy process, ultimately taking us closer to the vision of New India.

Challenges in the path of New India

Obstructive social environment for women and other marginalized communities in rural areas, environmental degradation, rural-urban divide, digital divide, falling farm incomes and rural distress leading to rural to urban migration, infrastructure deficit in many states, high unemployment due to unsustainable agriculture, neglect of manufacturing sector and lack of factor market reforms, unplanned urban development among many other concerns continue to haunt Indian policy makers. In this context, the role of citizens in helping out the government to deal with all these problems becomes really important.

Dutiful citizens can solve many challenges

To reverse environmental pollution, we have recently seen many citizens single handedly doing community service whether it is cleaning beaches, recycling waste, researching on the alternatives to single use plastic etc. To solve issues of employment, salaried citizens are now turning into entrepreneurs so that more jobs are created especially in manufacturing and services. To solve rural distress, skillful urban youth are going back to their villages to install and popularize agro-technology and climate smart agricultural practices so as to help the government in doubling farmers’ income by 2022. Also, fellowships floated by states like Haryana and Delhi have been welcomed by urban planners and technocrats leading to better urban planning in most cities. Clearly, citizens can and are going the extra mile in collaboration, convergence and co-governance of public policies taking us a step closer to the vision of New India.

Many young boys and girls in India today are just like Raju. They are progressive in their outlook, scientific in their acumen, aspirational in their demands and embody the constitutional ideals of humanism, liberalism, secularism and true Indianism. They know that they are the instruments of social change, agents of social empowerment and are equal partners in the development process of India. For this new generation, a New India is only a beginning.