1.

GDP per capita, PPP (current international $)", World Development Indicators database,
World Bank. Database updated on 15
th
August 2014.
On 14
th
August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed, Long years ago we made a tryst with
destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full
measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps,
India will awake to life and freedom.
A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the
new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. The
achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater
triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this
opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?
Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this assembly, a
sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we
have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow.
Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that
beckons to us now.
In his famous Independence Day speech Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of
Independent India, illustrates the true spirit of Independence and freedom. These were the
basic principles on which, India embarked upon its path of development since its
Independence.
India with a total population of about 1.252 billion (2013) is home to almost 1/6
th
of the
worlds population. India is a stable democracy, but its large size, massive population and
diversity are challenges to effective governance.
Since 1951, India has grown as a planned economy. The objective of Indias development
strategy has been to establish a socialistic pattern of society through economic growth with
self-reliance, social justice and alleviation of poverty. These objectives were to be achieved
within a democratic political frame work using the mechanism of mixed economy where both
public and private sectors co-exist. The first few plans focused on growth with strengthening
of manufacturing sector emphasizing heavy industries to form the backbone of the economy .
Other principle areas of planning were agriculture and social development i.e housing and
poverty alleviation.







1. GDP per capita, PPP (current international $)", World Development Indicators database,
World Bank. Database updated on 15
th
August 2014.
India with a total population of about 1.252 billion (2013) is home to almost 1/6
th
of the
worlds population. With the gigantic man power we possess, India should have become a
super power by now. However, even after 68 years of independence, India is ranked 123
[1]

out of 185 in terms of GDP(PPP) per capita.
India is a stable democracy, but its large size, massive population and diversity are
challenges to effective governance.
Low literacy level is one of the major causes for low economic development of the country.
The literacy percentage of India as per the 2011 census is 74.04% which is well below the
world literacy level of 84%.India is the country with the largest illiterate population
accounting to about 0.3250 billon people. Literacy level and educational attainmentare vital
indicators of development in a society.