We have just celebrated India’s 79th Independence Day, and as we traverse into the 79th year of our existence as a free nation, I reminisce on these famous and oft-quoted lines of the ‘Bard of Bengal’, Rabindranath Tagore. “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.”
Have we reached a state where we can hold our heads high and say that we are proud to be India? Is our mind without fear? Can we sleep safely and conscionably at night, knowing that our people are being done right by? For me, the run-up to 15 August has always been a time of introspection, to laud the successes of the past year and to understand where we need to improve.
As we head toward “Azaadi Ka Amrit Kaal”, let us remember the sacrifices of our freedom fighters and pay homage to our ancestors by keeping the growth engine turbocharged and bringing energy and prosperity to all.
Population and fertility
India’s population has nearly quadrupled since the 1951 census, from approximately 361 million to about 1.455 billion. A child born in 1947 was expected to live for 32 years. A child born in 2025 has a life expectancy of 72 years, slightly below the world’s average of 73.4.
Life expectancy is considered an indicator of a nation’s development level as it is a reflection of the population’s health and well-being. It is influenced by factors like access to healthcare, standards of living and socioeconomic conditions. Developed nations boast higher life expectancies due to better resources and an improved quality of life.
Fertility rates dropped from nearly six births per woman in the 1950s to approximately 2 now, close to replacement level. This demographic transition has been central to India’s changing economic and social profile.
In 1947, India had around 7,000 hospitals and dispensaries with 700 primary care centres. In 2025, this has expanded to about 24,000 government hospitals, supported by numerous private hospitals. India, today, is a destination for medical tourism.
Infant mortality in the 1950s was 146/1000 births, and today it stands at 25, according to UNICEF. Maternal mortality rates have declined by 83 per cent during the period from 1990 to 2020.
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Economy and growth
We have seen a lot of negative hype about the state of India’s economy in the last month, with LOP Rahul Gandhi endorsing President Trump’s opinion on India’s ‘Dead Economy’. But facts and numbers say otherwise.
India’s GDP in 1960 was estimated at around $37 billion, with a per capita income of less than $85. Growth in the first decades hovered around 3.5 per cent.
According to the IMF, India’s nominal GDP for 2025 (FY26) is expected to be $4,187 billion, with per capita income projected to be around $2,800. Real GDP growth has averaged 6–7 per cent annually in recent years.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra strongly refuted Trump’s statement. “We are contributing about 18 per cent, which is more than the US, where the contribution is expected to be much less—about 11 per cent or something. We are doing very well, and we will continue to improve further,” he said. India is expected to grow at 6.5 per cent compared to the IMF’s global outlook of 3 per cent.
A Deloitte report authored by economists Dr Rumki Majumdar and Debdatta Ghatak says, “Entering the new fiscal, India’s economic outlook is buoyed by three key engines: a resilient consumer base, a broadening investment landscape, and a digitally skilled, dynamic workforce. Urban spending is rising, private capital expenditures are showing green shoots, and India’s tech-adaptive talent is driving innovation and showcasing its global capabilities.” The report was released around the same time as Rahul Gandhi’s statement about the economy. India has gone from a primarily agrarian economy at Independence to a growth engine of STEM and AI.
Far from a dead economy, right?
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Poverty reduction
In the last ten years, especially, India has made major progress in drastically reducing poverty. A World Bank Report states that the percentage of people living in extreme poverty—defined as surviving on less than $2.15 a day—dropped from 16.2 per cent in 2011–12 to just 2.3 per cent in 2022–23, lifting around 171 million people above this threshold.
This is in stark contrast to 1956, when BS Minhas of the Planning Commission estimated that 65 per cent, or 215 million Indians, were poor.
Since 2021–22, job creation has grown faster than the working-age population, with employment rates improving, particularly for women. Urban unemployment fell to 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of FY 2024–25, the lowest level recorded since 2017–18. Recent figures also show a shift of male workers from rural to urban areas for the first time since 2018–19, while women in rural areas are increasingly finding work in agriculture.
Education and literacy
At the time of Independence, only 12 per cent of Indians were literate, and in 1950, more than eight out of 10 Indians were illiterate. By 2011, literacy rose to 74 per cent, with gender gaps narrowing significantly. As of 2023, it stands at 80.3 per cent.
School enrollment ratios improved rapidly post-2000, supported by programmes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Education Act.
Primary school enrollment, especially for girls, has gone up. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has given further impetus to girl child education. And even though there was a setback during Covid-19 years, we aim to achieve 100 per cent literacy by 2047.
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Electricity, water and sanitation
At Independence, access to electricity, clean water, and sanitation was minimal. Just 3,000 of over 5,00,000 Indian villages had an electric pole in 1950. By 2023, 99.5 per cent of Indians had electricity access. Urbanisation doubled, from approximately 18 per cent in 1951 to around 37 per cent in 2024.
The proportion of Indians with access to clean water has increased significantly due to Government schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission and Har Ghar Jal. According to PIB, 74 per cent of rural homes now have access to tap water.
At Independence, India was primarily an open defecation country. In 2014, PM Modi launched the Swach Bharat Mission and promoted the discussion around toilets to bring about a behavioural change. SBM Rural built over 100 million household toilets and 2,30,000 community and public toilets between 2014 and 2019. This was the first time that the taboo subject of toilets was discussed in India, marking a shift in the mindset of people.
An emerging global superpower
The geopolitical landscape is rapidly changing. India was once a global superpower, respected for trade, freedom, religion and economic development, giving rise to the moniker “Sone ki Chidiya”. All this changed when various invaders altered the culture and ethos of the country and turned us into an impoverished nation.
Now, India is regaining the ability to stare down global leaders who push for policies contrary to our national interests. We are also happy to help out our neighbours like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Myanmar without extracting our pound of flesh or using derogatory terms like ‘aid’. Vaccine Maitri was a case in point.
Dealing with sovereign nations is an art, and we are sending the message that we are helping as friends, not engaging in disrespectful one-upmanship.
India is also taking on world issues such as climate change and has so far been able to walk the diplomatic tightrope of Palestine/Israel and Russia/Ukraine.
The recent India-Pakistan skirmish and Operation Sindoor have also given the world a taste of India’s abilities as an ‘atmanirbhar’ military nation, where we gave the F-16s a tough run for their money. It was a very different scenario from the 1962 war, when housewives knit socks for our Jawans as they were ill-equipped for combat.
However, to paraphrase Nehru’s favourite poet, Robert Frost, we have miles to go before we sleep. And in the run-up to 2047, dialogues should be about Viksit Bharat 2047, including dialogues on, but not limited to, women empowerment, literacy, youth employment, sanitation, education and health for all, instead of all the divisive politics of caste and language.
This cannot be achieved unless the entire population of this country stand together in solidarity, with one voice and as one people.
Meenakashi Lekhi is a BJP leader, lawyer and social activist. Her X handle is @M_Lekhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)