Page 44 - Science India August 2022

COLLECTOR’S EDITION 2.0
Swatantrata ka Amrut Mahotsava
Recalibrating India’s ‘Planning’ Attitude for Big League Ambitions
Amrit Kaal (2022-2047), as a lead up to one hundred years of India’s Independence, will modify the nation from short-term to long-term and far-sighted planner
Image Courtesy: Shutterstock
that the colonial policy-making mecha- nisms, including the legal structures, had been in place for nearly a century. For them, it made sense to continue with these mechanisms. And some have toyed with all three sensibilities in different permutations and combinations.
Bharat is an ancient civilisation that can think over long periods lasting cen- turies. But after independence, we some- how lost the ability to think over longer durations. Independent India began ap- ing the communist nations and began planning for no more than a five-year horizon. Fortunately, we have gone past the aberration, and now, 25-year plan- ning has been made possible, five times longer than the mundane. The Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav has inspired Bharat to plan and execute things for the next 25
n Dr Chaitanya Giri
Independent India never stopped the struggle to find the best socio- and techno-economic models suitable for its progress. After securing a re- public in 1950, Indian policymakers have been grappling with ideological vicissitudes. There have been some who championed the execution of national policies based on indigenous necessi- ties. Some were enamoured by the anti- colonial line of policymaking, which did not fit our native requirements. Then some sought bliss in continuing with colonial-era policies as they rationalised
44 SCIENCE INDIA
AUGUST 2022