India – 2030, sounds like the title of another economic-scientific-progressive novel. We stand here at 2010, look two decades ahead and think how our plan of action would have been executed. We are a nation of 1.2 billion people who never forget to plan, but, rely more on superstition than reality. When we think of the number of hurdles that is confronting us in becoming a superpower, we can just count to infinity twice. Although over the years, the hurdles have exponentially decreased we still have a long way to go before becoming the superpower that the world is expecting of us to be and also that we are capable of.
Redefining the dream of 2030, the cricketing nation, by then would have seen five different sets of governments that would have shared the crown. With coalition becoming success and democracy taking an altogether different meaning, the vision of 2030 entirely depends upon the execution of plan by the last government that will be in power. A lot of things would have changed by then, fresh plans would have made by then and fresh start for India -2050.
Giving statisticians a break, a lay-man can say that our population by then would have doubled, if not tripled. A cynical way of looking at it would be that the divisor that will bring down the per capita income is going to be humungous. But, on the contrary, we can start planning on the optimistic fact that we are going to be master producers of human resource to the world. The human species would have gone through a generational change and a more intelligent species will take over the reins. Old habits die hard; so does our inaccuracy in planning and execution. A lot of us will be a lot more relieved if the then younger generation would not emulate our genes which has a met the deep abyss in the execution of the 5-year plans. Our population explosion is going to be our strength, for which we have no measures to control, so why not turn an adversity into opportunity for growth. We can have the largest defense force; we can have two cricket teams representing India; Brazil will be seeking us to pardon them in the World Cup Finals; largest exporter of human resource, even to moon, we never know. We have learnt to live with billion other people; fight for our rights and survive. Isn’t that an accomplishment in its own sense?
The year 2030 is going to be the point of inflexion as far as the energy resources are concerned for the whole world. With as much inventions in the nuclear science, renewable sources of energy are still occupying the backseat. India relying highly on the crude oil exports apart from its own Oil and Natural gas projects has now started to look at Nuclear Technology as the viable alternative. Well the ecological damage has been done to a greater extent with swindling monsoons, topographical changes, climatic disorders and the least-hyped altercations with nature. We must get started with investments in the Research and Development sector to develop an alternative fuel for diesel and petrol. The rich society has to realize that pouring in lakhs of rupees on petrol and diesel engines is going to make them proud of the antiques of 2010. Why are we turning a blind eye on the blazing sun, the perennial rivers flowing with occasional floods, steady winds atop high mountains and the least of all the potential biodegradable waste?
Imagining a situation that we found a way to deal with our population explosion and energy problems, a country with diversified flora, fauna and people has been closely knit with its neighbors. What we see in our neighbors is not a helping hand, but, nuclear weapons that can destroy us, as well as them. A political consensus to the eternal problems of infiltration along the borders has created much havoc. Although a generous nation she has been, someone tell her neighbors that she already has more than a billion people to accommodate with no vacancies for those terrorists. 2030 should not see the terrorists as terror maniacs, but as mentally retarded people needing help where Euthanasia is performed upon. Our political policies should be framed in such a way that Kashmir belongs to us and so does Arunachal Pradesh.
Neglecting the volatile political situation out of the equation, what we have next is our faster than light-depleting natural resources. India, being blessed with billions of tones of minerals is fighting hard at the moment to sustain them. Illegal mining on one side while, illegal money on the other. Without developing the mining affected areas, the mining conglomerates are wishing to dance in the rain of profits. The current insurgency created is an aftermath of decades of negligence. Before stepping into the realm of the vision of 2030, these problems must be sorted out. The question that needs to be raised here is not the Capitalist nature of the government or the multinational mining companies, but the poor laws that guide them. Ask any Indian you find on the road and he would not even remember when the laws that govern him were made. An educated Indian will answer the same question with much pride that they were made in pre-historic 1950s. Hasn’t India seen much change since then? Hasn’t the human race marched forward in evolution? Are we doing enough to upgrade the laws? By 2030, I wish the aam-aadmi of today is turned into a seb-aadmi. By 2030, all we need to have is a water-tight law system to take us on a forward march. Enough of waiting and walking, by 2030, we can be half-way through to our destination of a super-power only if we start with jogging now.
