Compendium on “Atmanirbhar Bharat” launched by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

In the foreword of the compendium penned by him, Shekhawat rejects this perception and clarifies the basic thrust of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative:

The compendium, titled “Atmanirbhar Bharat: Marching to a $5 Trillion Economy” was launched by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister of Jal Shakti of the Government of India in New Delhi on July 17. The compendium is perhaps the only comprehensive study on the various aspects of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Commissioned by Amway India and is edited by Leading International Consultant & Columnist Rajesh Mehta and Anand Mishra, a Washington DC based research scholar.

In the foreword of the compendium penned by him, Shekhawat rejects this perception and clarifies the basic thrust of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative: “Contrary to the opinion of many who allege that it is a new mantra to close the Indian economy from the rest of the world, the Atmanirbhar Bharat is a new way to integrate with the global economy and value chain which empowers Indian industry and economy.” He further points to the fact that the initiative efficiently “integrates with the other major initiatives of the government such as Make in India, Startup India, and Vocal for Local.”

Underscoring the importance of the Atmanirbharta Bharat initiative, Anshu Budhraja, the CEO of Amway India, mentions in preface of the compendium, “At a time when world is working with its entire wherewithal to fight off the unprecedented challenge thrown by the Covid 19, the mantra of Atmanirbhar Bharat has acted as a galvanizing force to unite all Indians and stride forth.”

The present volume is the fourth in a series of compendia that Amway India has brought out on crucial issues such as women entrepreneurship, skill development, and water conservation etc. From the policymaking world, people of immense consequence such as Dr. Sanjeev Varshney, Adviser & Head of International Cooperation at the Department of Science & Technology; Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, DG, National Mission for Clean Ganga; Sandeep Chakravorty, Joint Secretary MEA; Prof. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Chairman of the Dynamic Coalition on Internet & Jobs and Dr. Shekhar Mande, Secretary, DSIR have shared their insights.

From the academic world, luminaries such as Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Former DG of CSIR; Dr. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman of AICTE, Dr. Rakesh Mohan Joshi & Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha have laid out what will be required to make Indian youth capable of handling the next industrial revolution. All of them emphasize the importance of right skilling and education to create a competitive workforce. To create such as workforce, Dr. Mashelkar asserts, “Indian academia must adjust to the power of open disruptions such as open knowledge (Udacity, Courser, a Kahn), open source development/collaboration (GitHub), open innovation (Quirky) and open research (Materials project, OSDD).”

Some of the other experts featured  include Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary( MEA); Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI; Nisha Biswal, President (USIBC); Deepak Bagla,  CEO of  Invest India; Dr. Vidya Velagapudi,(Director, AstraZeneca); Yugal Joshi (Director Swacch Bharat Mission); Nadira Hamid, CEO(ICBc); Dr. Prashant Yadav, Professor, INSEAD; Dr. Amit Kapoor, Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness; Rameesh Kailasam, CEO of India Tech; Dr. Sujata Sharma from  AIIMS;Dr. Badri Narayanan; Prasoon Sharma; Industrialist Sanjay Jain; Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy; MP in Norway Himanshu Gulati, Former US Ambassador Vinai Thummlapally, scholar Sameer Patil & Freddy Svane, the Danish Ambassador to India.

The single-most prominent assertion of experts interviewed and featured in the compendium is that Atmanirbarata is not about closing India from the rest of the world, but is rather an endeavor to reintegrate with the global economy in a carefully thought-out plan which allows the country to reap maximum benefit from globalization. The second crucial aspect for self-dependence, especially for a country like India, is the importance of supporting the MSME sector because it employs the majority of the workforce.