Agriculture Science & Technology Medical Facilities & Hospitals

Games & Sports Industrialization Education

India's Development & Growth

in Various Field (after Independence)
Introduction to India's Development & Growth
in Various Field (after Independence)

India, which has now turned into a significant nation

internationally has grown a ton since it got its freedom from the
frontier rule. Yet, very much like all the other things, various
individuals have various sentiments about it. While some think
that it has seen huge development, others are of the view that
the development is delayed when contrasted with what it ought
to be. Regardless of these differentiating sees, the way that
remains is that the India we see today is unique in relation to
what it was during autonomy. It has created regarding the
agriculture, science & technology, medical facilities & hospitals,
games & sports,industrialization and education system and in
practically any remaining areas.
Allow us now to take a gander at the improvements that India
has made in various areas in the beyond seventy years:-
1) Agriculture
 2) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Developing India the country of Kanad, Vishwamitra, C.V Raman, and last but not least, India,
the country of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam. Comprising 17% of the world population, it is one of the
most densely populated countries in the world. After nearly two centuries of despotic British
rule, India gained independence in 1947. The British left India as a poor, dependent,
underdeveloped, socially, and economically backward nation. It was the vision of Pandit
Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, and the need of India at that time that
led to the foundation of the Indian Institute of Technology in 1950 after only three years of
independence. These institutes, with assistance from international institutes, promoted the
research in India. Nehru aimed to inculcate the scientific temper among the Indians. As per
Nehru, “Science was not merely an individual’s search for truth; it was something infinitely
more than that if it worked for the community”. He also aimed “to convert India’s economy
into that of a modern state, and to fit her into the nuclear age and do it quickly”. The
Department of scientific research and natural resources was also set up by him. The Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) also expanded during this time due to the
initiation of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, who is popularly known as the father of Indian
research laboratories.
Development in defence technology:
Vulnerable India-China and the India-Pakistan border were the real concern for India. To
secure borders, more advanced defence technology is needed. Thus, the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) was set up in 1958. After its formation, it has developed
several large programs and essential technology, including aircraft, small and large arms,
artillery systems, electronic warfare (EW) systems, tanks, and armored vehicles, sonar
systems, command and control systems, and missile systems.

Development in the nuclear energy sector:

The nuclear energy program of India has its origin in 1944. Dr. Homi Bhaba approached the
Tata trust and, with their financial support, TIFR was founded in Mumbai. TIFR later
conducted a number of studies in the fields of physics, nuclear energy, and cosmic rays. In
1954, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was established by the government of India.
India successfully tested the first nuclear bomb in 1974, under the guidance of nuclear
physicist Raja Ramanna at Pokhran. Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam describes nuclear power as the
“gateway to a prosperous future”. India is currently suffering from electricity shortages. Even
now, a large number of the population lacks access to electricity. To meet the rising demand,
the country will need to produce even more power as the economy grows and the population
grows. Energy supplies are being exhausted to satisfy current demand. We need to produce
more energy for our prosperous future. Electric energy can be generated from the heat
generated by nuclear fission.
Development in space technology:
For more advanced scientific research, with the help of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the Indian space
research organization (ISRO) was set up in 1969. Aryabhatta, the first Indian satellite, was
launched by the Soviet Union in 1975. In recent times, ISRO has conducted two successful
space projects, Chandrayaan, and Mangalyaan in 2008 and 2014 respectively. At present, our
main priorities are Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan mission”.
This is the history of scientific research programs in India, but after digging into the past, let’s
come to the present. Due to the initiation and vision of some great scientists and leaders,
renowned institutes have been established in India, but today, students passing from these
institutes are migrating to foreign countries and many Indian researchers are working with
non-Indian research centers. If this process continues, this could prove to be a huge setback
for the scientific development program in India. We are not far behind in terms of ability. If
we take visionary steps, we can surely get positive outcomes.
Here’s looking back at the accomplishments of India in the field of science and
technology post-independence, and the developments we are progressing towards:

1947–1957:- Establishment of a Five-Year plan which prioritized scientific research

The Planning Commission in India was set up in 1950 with an aim to ideate and plan the
actions to be taken in key sectors such as agriculture, science, infrastructure, and education.
The first-ever plan draft was presented in July 1951 and had a dedicated chapter on ‘Scientific
and Industrial Research’. Being the first plan, it prioritized laying the foundation of scientific
research in the country and largely focused on initiatives for building or enhancing national
laboratories and research centers.
1957–1967:- Focus on agricultural research and emergence of the Green Revolution
After independence, regaining control of agriculture production was a task. Research about
the crop yield potential of locations across the country, irrigation systems, effective fertilizers,
pesticides, power sources, agricultural equipment was lacking. Government prioritized
scientific research for advancing agriculture. This led to the Green Revolution during this
decade. This enabled India’s agrarian economy, which was on the brink of collapse in 1947, to
improve steadily. This revolution made us self-reliant, as we traveled the distance from being
an importer of food grains to one producing it in surplus.

1967–1977:- Aryabhata – India’s first satellite

India’s contribution to the science of space is immense. The Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO) was established in 1969 to serve as India’s national space agency. The
first-ever Indian satellite was the ‘Aryabhata’, which was designed and manufactured in India
and was launched on 19th April 1975. ISRO developed Aryabhata to execute X-ray astronomy,
aeronomy and solar physics.

1977–1987:- AGNI – India’s strategic missile

India successfully developed strategic missile systems in the 1980s, with successful testing of
Agni in 1989. Eventually Indian scientists were able to demonstrate abilities such as re-entry,
maneuvering range, control, guidance, two-stage propulsion and stage separation. Since then,
India has created, tested, operationalized several missile systems. The Agni became a series of
missiles, with the latest one being Agni-V, successfully tested in 2018.
1987–1997:- DNA fingerprinting
DNA fingerprinting in India came into existence in 1988 when Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research–Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR–CCMB) scientists
developed the technique and made it available for use, making India the third country to
develop its own DNA fingerprinting probe.

1997–2007:-Pokhran-II nuclear test

On 11th May 1998, India successfully tested five nuclear bombs underground in Pokhran,
Rajasthan—these tests were titled ‘Pokhran-II’.
In order to facilitate the technological achievement of an emerging democracy, this day was
named ‘National Technology Day’ by our then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It is
observed each year.

2007 – 2017
Chandrayaan-I mission to the moon
Chandrayaan-I was India’s first-ever mission to the moon, launched on 22nd October 2008
from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The spacecraft hovered around the moon to deliver
chemical, photo geologic, and mineralogical mapping to ISRO.
Polio-free India
India accounted for around 60% of the global cases of polio in 1994. A dedicated campaign to
vaccinate every child by the Government enabled us to become polio-free within two decades.
India received the ‘Polio-free’ certification from World Health Organization (WHO) on 27th
March 2014.
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) (also known as Mangalyaan)
A historic first for India—its first ever interplanetary mission. MOM marked India’s place in
the field of space exploration. Launched on 5th November 2013, MOM studied Mar’s
topography, morphology, mineralogy and atmosphere. Apart from the scientific
breakthroughs, MOM is also lauded for its cost effectiveness.
Encouragement of start-ups
The Government launched the ‘Startup India’ program on 16th January 2016 to develop an
ecosystem to encourage indigenous scientific, technological and innovative development in
India. Since then, the number of Indian startups has increased and is growing. As of July 2021,
there are more than 52,000 start-ups in the country, making India one of the largest start-up
ecosystems in the world. These start-ups have resulted in creation of more than 5 lakh jobs.
The top ten sectors for start-ups in India are IT services, healthcare & life sciences, education,
professional & commercial services, food & beverages, agriculture, finance technology,
technology hardware, construction and green technology.

2017 - till present

ISRO’s Gaganyaan Programme
The Gaganyaan Programme is designed to demonstrate human spaceflight to Low Earth
Orbit.
COVID-19 vaccine research and vaccination drive
India was at the forefront of the vaccine development research, eventually becoming one of
the largest manufacturers and exporters of COVID-19 vaccines.
 3)medical facilities & hospitals
After the implementation of economic planning a lot of progress has been made in health
services in India after Independence.The following points explain the progress of health
services:

1. General services:
Basic infrastructure in the form of primary health care services, has been provided in urban
and rural areas. Primary health care services include material and child health care services
and family welfare services. Specialised health care services are provided through hospitals in
urban areas.
The following table shows the growth of health infrastructure in India during the last 50
years:
2. Control of Communicable Diseases:
To control communicable diseases like Malaria, Tuberculosis and AIDS etc. many national
programmes have started.
A few of them are discussed below:
(а) Malaria
(b) Small Pox
(c) Tuberculosis
(d) Leprosy
(e) AIDS
(f) Polio
(g) Goitre Control Programme

3. Maternal and Child Health Services:

Maternal and child health services are provided to people in rural and urban area through
existing health infrastructure. The services include prenatal and postnatal care,
immunisation and oral rehybration therapy to fight against diarrhoea. One of the important
programme is Universal Immunisation Programme. Under this programme vaccination is
provided against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis and measles etc.

4. Traditional system of Medicine:

The four traditional system of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani and Homeopathy
are made popular to serve humanity. Each system has a Central Council and an attached
Research Council.Ayurvedic and Homeopathy colleges, hospitals and dispensaries have been
established in all States. These medicines are cheap. A common man can purchase these.