Industrial Development
In 1951, factories employed just 2.5 percent of India&rsquos total workforce, with cotton and jute textiles being the main two industries. Basic and capital goods industries had to be established at a large scale to create a strong base for industrial development, which was the key to alleviating poverty, raising incomes, and engaging labour. The first three Five-Y
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2/12
Abolishing the Zamindari System
India&rsquos feudal set-up had severely affected its social fabric: Land ownership was concentrated among a select few, while landless and bonded labourers struggled to make ends meet. In 1949, the first important agrarian reform was to abolish the zamindari system, and tenants became, in most cases, owners of the land they cultivated. The abolition proces
Image by Dinodia Photo
3/12
Cooperative Dairy Movement
India&rsquos White Revolution, based on Gujarat&rsquos &lsquoAnand model&rsquo&mdashwhere thousands of rural milk cooperatives covering 80,000 villages and over 10 million farmers came up&mdashis one of India&rsquos most celebrated success stories in development. It not only laid the foundation for self-sufficiency in milk production, but provides for about a t
Image by Dinodia Photo
4/12
Eradication of Polio
Till as recently as 2009, India was home to more than 60 percent of the world&rsquos polio cases. Challenges posed by a large population and tropical climate were compounded by difficult geographical terrains. With the joint efforts of the government and partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, notably the World Health Organization, Rotary International a
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5/12
Setting Up the IITs
The creation of institutions of technical higher education was essential for the development of a skilled workforce in the fields of engineering and technology. The government established the first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur, West Bengal, in 1951. The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, created a unique framework for the funding, administration
Image by Ritesh Uttamchandani/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
6/12
Rural Employment Guarantee
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was launched in February 2006, in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. It covered 200 of the country&rsquos most backward districts, and was later expanded to cover all rural districts. The scheme provides at least 100 days (in a fiscal year) of guaranteed wage employment to every rural house
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7/12
Mid-Day Meal Scheme
The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was started to reduce school dropout rates and to combat under-nutrition among poor children. In late 2001, the Supreme Court directed all states to implement the scheme by providing students in government and government-assisted primary schools with one meal every day, for a minimum of 200 days. By 2006, the scheme was near universal in all st
Image by Parivartan Sharma / Reuters
8/12
Generic Drug Manufacturing
By 2017, the pharmaceutical industry in India was valued at $33 billion, with generic drugs accounting for 20 percent of global exports share in terms of volume. This made India the largest provider of generic medicines in the world. Despite large players like Piramal, Torrent, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Aurobindo,
Dr Reddy&rsquos and Glenmark, the industry remains hi
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9/12
NGOs&rsquo Advocacy In Education
A significant phenomenon has been the contributions of non-government organisations (NGOs) in grassroots educational work. They have also contributed to national educational debates and helped make access and quality of education a prominent public issue. For instance, in 2005, Pratham did pioneering work in testing the learning achievements of elementary
Image by Pradeep Gaur/Mint via Getty Images
10/12
Groundwater Management
Successive crop failures in the arid Deccan plateau and groundwater depletion prompted the Food and Agriculture Organization to work with farmers&rsquo collectives and launch the Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems project in 2004. It brought together over 30,000 farmers from 638 villages, who were taught to make optimal use of rain, groundwater, cana
