Aatmanirbhar Bharat: A Vibrant and Strong India
Contents: 1. Introduction/Arvind Gupta. 2. Aatmanirbhar Bharat: its historical context and theoretical foundations/S. Gurumurthy. 3. Role of culture in making India self-reliant/Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. 4. The ideational quest for Aatmanirbhar Bharat: from Bankim to Modi/Anirban Ganguly. 5. Swaraj in ideas: towards ideational self-reliance/Arpita Mitra. 6. Global welfare and reformed multilateralism/Asoke Kumar Mukerji. 7. National security strategy for a strong India/General Nirmal Chander Vij. 8. Coping with the pandemic: COVID-19 and the federal spirit/A. Surya Prakash. 9. Self-reliance in India’s context/Bibek Debroy and Diwakar Jhurani. 10. What lies ahead for the global economy and India, Post-COVID-19?/Anantha Nageswaran. 11. Transformation of the rural sector for Aatmanirbhar India/Suhas P. Wani and Dhirendra Singh. 12. For Aatmanirbhar: stimulating engines of our economic growth/R. Vaidyanathan. 13. Role of technology in uplifting the rural economy/Sridhar Vembu. 14. Skilling India for Aatmanirbharta/Partha Pratim Mitra. 15. Role of education in making Aatmanirbhar Bharat/Nivedita Raghunath Bhide. 16. Prioritising Aatmanirbharta for women within an Aatmanirbhar Bharat/Gayatri Dalmia. 17. Aatmanirbhar Bharat and climate change/Uttam Kumar Sinha. Notes on contributors. Index.
Neither development without self-pride nor self-pride without development are desirable. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Aatmanirbhar Bharat or a self-reliant India on 12 May 2020 goes beyond mere economic self-reliance. The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth India’s unhealthy and unsustainable dependencies on imports, be it of goods, armaments, technology or even ideas. India, thus, needs a course correction, which the Aatmanirbhar model provides. The Aatmanirbhar programme does not imply the return of disastrous import substitution policies of the fifties and the sixties. The Aatmanirbhar programme goes beyond indigenization, and aims to make India self-reliant in political, economic, military, social, and cultural aspects while rediscovering and developing India’s inherent strengths. The idea is not to go alone, but rebalance being strategically dependent and strategically interdependent.
The editors are encouraged by the Prime Minister’s message to this publication. In his words, “India’s inner strength, intent and energy is powering the nation’s resolute efforts towards building a prosperous and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.” Aatmanirbhar Bharat’s vision is global peace, prosperity and welfare of all.
Through this book, India’s leading thinkers and policy stalwarts (including two Padma Shri awardees), dive deep into conceptualizing and outlining the way forward for this arduous, yet ardent vision of Aatmanirbharta. A broad spectrum of the policy space ranging from civilizational and historical discourses to economy, foreign policy, technology, military, rural sector, education, skills development, women, and climate change is covered in the book making it an inspiring read for the decision makers, intelligentsia and the public at large.
