Atmanirbhar Bharat
Atmanirbhar Bharat is a policy framework in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first used the term "self-reliance" in English as early as 2014 in discussions about national security, poverty alleviation, and the Digital India initiative. The equivalent Hindi phrase, "Atmanirbhar Bharat", gained prominence during the announcement of India's economic stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
History
In 2022, Union Home Minister Amit Shah acknowledged that slogans such as "Atmanirbhar Bharat", "Make in India" and "Vocal for Local" were adapted from Mahatma Gandhi's efforts during the Swadeshi movement. According to Gandhi, "Pre-independence aspirations that had been forgotten are now being revived and adapted, and put into practice."Defence sector
The Indian defence sector also requires self-sufficiency in military logistics, including food during emergencies.The Ministry of Defence was going to amend the Defence Acquisition Procedure in 2020. Under new rules, the private sector will be allowed to form joint ventures with public sector undertakings in India by acquiring a 51% stake. The private sector will be permitted to export up to 25% of the production to third countries. Indian Armed Forces have also assured support that they would purchase the end product. The Indian Multi-Role Helicopter is the first major project to follow this process.
Atmanirbhar Bharat
During the coronavirus pandemic in India, the lockdown, an existing slowdown in the growth of the domestic economy and the economic impact of the pandemic, the government issued an adapted idea of self-reliance. On 12 May 2020, Prime Minister Modi publicly used the Hindi phrase for the first time stating: "The state of the world today teaches us that 'Self-reliant India' is the only path. It is said in our scriptures—Eshah Panthah. That is—self-sufficient India." While the speech was in Hindi, the reference by the Press Information Bureau to both "self-reliance" and "self-sufficiency" led to some confusion. Under Modi's leadership, the Government of India announced an economic package known as the "Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan". The initiative received a mixed response.According to Swaminathan Aiyar writing for The Economic Times, "atmanirbhar" can be translated as both self-reliance and self-sufficiency. In the 1960s and 1970s, India's drive for self-sufficiency was unsuccessful, and doing the same thing again was not advisable. Sadanand Dhume was sceptical of the terminology and language related to the phrase, and whether it was meant for the revival of pre-liberalization era policies. "Aatmanirbharta" or Self-Reliance was the Oxford Hindi Word of the Year in 2020.
This adapted plan for self-reliance or "Aatmanirbharta" emerged with a readiness to associate and challenge the global economy, unlike the past decades where there had been a wish to disassociate, such as during the pre-independence Swadeshi movement and with post-independence foreign aid. Swadeshi, however, has been adapted with slogans such as "vocal for local" while at the same time, global interconnectedness is being promoted. The government aims to reconcile this; according to the Economist Intelligence Unit; "The policies created by Modi's aims to reduce domestic market access to imports, but at the same time open the economy and export to the rest of the world".
Along with the coronavirus pandemic, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan could be seen in the context of India-China border relations and India's economic dependence on China in some sectors. Calls for India to boycott Chinese products and promote an Atmanirbhar Bharat. In contrast, India faces practical challenges in the near term, as it imports ₹6.4 trillion worth of goods from China annually and certain sectors of its economy are reliant on China. Following the Galwan Valley skirmish on 15 June 2020, which resulted in many deaths, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said if the government was serious about making India self-reliant, Chinese companies should not be given contracts for projects such as the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. A Chinese company was awarded a contract for of the project.
While Atmanirbhar Bharat has been extensively promoted during the premiership of Narendra Modi, especially in rhetoric and speeches, this is not always apparent in government policies. There has been concern that Atmanirbhar Bharat is political messaging that has no economic impact. India's trade deficit restricts a reduction in dependence on imports, limiting protectionism and isolationism. Protectionist tendencies such as tariff increases, however, have been seen during this phase. The general trend of the Modi government has been to support domestic industries rather than global ones. Subsidies are being used as incentives to get global business leaders into India. The initiative has been accused of crony capitalism and of giving false hope to small businesses that align with the messaging. On 7 December 2021, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh said for India to be self-reliant, states must be self-reliant.
Use by the NDA government
Prime Minister Modi used the phrase "self-reliance" in June 2014 about defence manufacturing for self-reliance in national security. He reiterated this over the years; in 2018, he spoke of the need for India to make its weapons. In August 2014, he connected self-reliance to Digital India, in September 2014 about making the poor self-reliant, and in March 2022 in relation to technologies.Proponents of Atmanirbhar Bharat, including Modi and his cabinet ministers for finance and law, have said this self-reliance policy does not aim to be protectionist, exclusionist, or isolationist. For India, self-reliance means being a larger and more important part of the world economy. The concept requires policies that are efficient and resilient, and encourage equity and competitiveness. It means being self-sustaining and self-generating; and creating "wealth and values not only for ourselves but for the larger humanity". In March 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign is not about bringing back socialism or import substitution, rather the intent is to boost manufacturing. The five pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat are economy, infrastructure, technology-driven systems, vibrant demography, and demand.
COVID-19 Pandemic Initiatives
The research, development, and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccinations in India was connected in separate statements to atmanirbharta by the President, Vice-president, Prime Minister, and other Union ministers. Modi stated: "Made in India vaccines are a symbol of Atmanirbhar Bharat".On May 12, October 12, and November 12, 2020, the government announced three Atmanirbhar Bharat packages worth in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The second and third economic stimulus packages were labelled Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 and 3.0. As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat packages, the government decided to change the definition of Small and medium-sized enterprises, boosting the scope for private participation in several sectors, increasing foreign direct investment in the defence sector; and the changes found support in many sectors such as solar energy manufacturing.
The growth of India's personal protective equipment sector from limited production before March 2020 to 450,000 pieces a day by the beginning of July 2020 is considered an example of a self-reliant India. The PPE industry in India became a industry in three months, the second largest after China.
In July 2020, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution issued a statement placing food rationing within the ambit of Atmanirbhar Bharat. In August 2020, following the migrant workers crisis during the pandemic, the same ministry made a statement placing the welfare of migrants within the concept's ambit.
Other initiatives
The importance of education and research for self-reliance has been recognised. In an address to the students of Visva-Bharati University, the new National Education Policy of India was connected to the creation of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Prime Minister Modi challenged the students to make the villages surrounding the university self-reliant. The Indian Minister of Education has also stressed the link between education and Atmanirbhar Bharat. Educationist and university administrator C. Raj Kumar said the vision of an 'Atmanirbhar University' combines the vision of John Henry Newman's work "Idea of a University" with the Humboldtian model of higher education. Apex public education bodies such as AICTE have asked universities to use Indian books where possible in an effort to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat. The home minister acknowledged the new policy also gives due importance to svabhasha, the Indian language.During a speech in 2017, Prime Minister Modi said his government was trying to tap human capital flight, and had the aim of engaging India's diaspora. To this effect, new organizations such as the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre in the space sector would aim to channel India's space talent. Dependence in the pharmaceutical sector upon active pharmaceutical ingredients is being addressed; out of 53 raw materials that were imported, 35 were being produced in India by March 2022.
In August 2020, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the Defence Ministry was "now ready for a big push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative" by imposing import prohibitions on 101 military items in a staged manner over five years. In the following months, more positive indigenization lists and negative import lists were released. The new legislation was portrayed as an initiative towards increasing India's self-reliance. A new category of procurement, Indian Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured was created. Reform of the Ordnance Factory Board and giving the new defence public sector undertaking units large-scale orders was a move towards military self-reliance. Equipment manufactured under Indian-IDDM has been handed over to the military. In the fiscal year 2022, the Ministry of defence decided to spend 65% of its capital budget on domestic procurement. Increased self-reliance is also being seen in the construction of its warships and submarines.
The phrase was also connected to the 2021, and 2022 Union budgets. Targets for self-reliance in fertiliser production by 2023 have been announced. Government-backed events to provide for the implementation and promotion of self-reliance, and associated slogans such as 'vocal for local' have materialized in the form of the country's first national toy fair, which was digitally launched in February 2021, and the associated brainstorming event Toycathon. In July 2020, the government launched the Atmanirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge to encourage the building of apps. 6,940 entries were received, of which 24 apps were chosen as winners, including mapping apps, fact-checking apps a cricket video game. The challenge's success led to its continuation through another round of entry submission. Government schemes also support the implementation of self-reliant initiatives.