Strategy for New India@75

NITI Aayog released the ‘Strategy for New India@75’ document on 19 December 2018, intending to make the country a USD 4-trillion economy by 2022-23, accelerate economic growth to 9-10% and achieve UN sustainable development goals. The strategy for the New India@75 document defines the strategy for 2022-23 across 41 areas.

The focus of the strategy for the New India@75 document is to improve the policy environment in which the private investors and other stakeholders can contribute to their maximum towards propelling India towards a USD 5-trillion economy by 2030 by achieving the goals set out for New India 2022.

The strategy for New India@75 document put together by NITI Aayog attempts to bring innovation, enterprise, technology and efficient management together, at the core of policy implementation and formulation. The private sector, citizens and civil society will also be encouraged to draw up their own strategies to supplement and complement the steps outlined in the strategy document.

Sections of Strategy for New India@75 Document

The 41 chapters in the Strategy for New India@75 document have been segregated into four sections: 

• Drivers.
• Infrastructure. 
• Inclusion.
• Governance.

Driver Section of Strategy for New India@75 Document

The first section of the document on drivers focuses on the engines of economic performance with chapters on doubling farmers’ incomes, growth and employment, upgrading the technology, science and innovation ecosystem, and promoting sunrise sectors like tourism and fintech.

A few key recommendations in the drivers’ section of the document include:

• Steadily accelerate the economic growth to achieve a GDP rate of about 8% on average during 2018-23. It will raise the economy’s size from USD 2.7 trillion in 2017-18 to about USD 4 trillion by 2022-23. Increase the investment rate as measured by the Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) from 29% to 36% of GDP by 2022.
• In agriculture, shift the emphasis to convert farmers to agripreneurs by further expanding the national agriculture markets and replacing the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act with the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act.
• Give a boost to the ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’ techniques that improve land quality, reduce costs and increase farmers’ income. The ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’ technique has emerged as a tested method for putting the environmental carbon back into the land.
• To ensure complete codification of labour laws, maximum employment creation and a massive effort to upscale and expand apprenticeships.
• Launch a mission, i.e. ‘Explore in India’ by revamping mineral exploration and licensing policy.

Infrastructure Section of Strategy for New India@75

The second section of the document on infrastructure deals with the physical foundations of growth that are crucial to improving the competitiveness of Indian business, ensuring the citizens’ ease of living.

A few key recommendations in the infrastructure section of the document include:

• Speed up the establishment of the Rail Development Authority (RDA). The RDA will make informed decisions or advise on a transparent, integrated and dynamic pricing mechanism for the railways.
• Double the share of freight transported by inland waterways and coastal shipping. Viability gap funding will be given until the infrastructure is fully developed. 
• Develop an IT-enabled platform to integrate different modes of transport and promote multi-modal and digitised mobility.
• All 2.5 lakh gram panchayats will be connected digitally with completing the Bharat Net programme. 
• Aim to deliver all government services digitally at the district, state, and gram panchayat level by 2022-23.

Inclusion Section of Strategy for New India@75

The third section of the document on inclusion deals with investing in the capabilities of India’s citizens. The themes in this section revolve around the dimensions of education, health, and mainstreaming of traditionally marginalised sections of the population.

A few key recommendations in the inclusion section of the document include:

• Implementing the Ayushman Bharat Programme, including establishing 1,50,000 health and wellness centres across India and implementing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan (PM-JAY).
• Creation of a focal point for public health at the central and state levels. 
• Promote integrative medicine curriculum.
• Upgrade the school education skills and system quality, including creating an innovation ecosystem by establishing at least 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) at the ground level by 2020.
• Conceptualise the electronic national educational registry for tracking every child’s learning outcomes.
• Give a boost to affordable housing in urban areas to improve workers’ living conditions and ensure equity while providing a solid impetus to the country’s economic growth.

Governance Section of Strategy for New India@75

The final section of the document on governance delves deep into how the governance structures can be streamlined and optimised processes for achieving better developmental outcomes.

A few key recommendations in the governance section of the document include:

• Implement the second administrative reforms commission recommendations for designing reforms in the changing context of emerging technologies and the growing complexity of the economy.
• Set up a new autonomous body, i.e., the Arbitration Council of India, to accredit arbitrators and grade arbitral institutions to make the arbitration process speedy, cost-effective and to prevent the need for court intervention.
• Address the backlog of pending cases and shift part of the workload out of the regular court system.
• Expand the scope of the Swachh Bharat Mission to cover initiatives for plastic waste, landfills, municipal waste, and generating wealth from waste.