5 PROMISING SIGNS OF CHANGE SHAPING INDIA FOR THE BETTER

Let’s face it; our country becomes a little hard to love at times. Many are the times we’ve felt disappointment on hearing news snippets detailing the latest instances of violence, corruption and general negativity that seemingly runs rampant in the nation. In such trying times, keeping the spark of hope in our nation alive seems a tall order.

Yet, we persevere, keeping the faith strong. No matter how dismal things may get, when the chips are down, we rally together as one nation and one voice, in support of our country.

Because deep down, we believe.

We believe in the immense potential our country has to make its mark on the world. We believe in India as an eminent superpower. We know that there are good things happening in the country amidst all the chaos, there’s no denying that. In that regard, let’s take a break from the negativity and focus on the 5 positives that are bettering our nation.

 

• Plastic Dilemma, Fantastic Solution

While bans on plastic bags have been enforced across various states, certain others took it a notch higher, with an outright ban on all single-use plastics. Tamil Nadu was the latest state to hop onto the bandwagon, ushering in the New Year with an environmental friendly resolution. They’re only the fourth state to carry out the ban in full, following Maharashtra, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh’s example.

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If you live in any of these states, chances are high that you’ve had a brush with the effects of the ban, whether it’s the paper straws at restaurants or the fancier (and pricey) carry bags at your local grocery stores. While opinions are divided on how effective this will be in the long run at curbing plastic pollution, there’s no denying that this is a step in the right direction towards a sustainable environment. For what it’s worth, it also makes us appreciate the value of things we earlier took for granted, and that is as good a thing as they come.

• Street-Smarts

Though this program has been in motion since its inception in 2015, it has stayed relatively under the radar till date. The Union Ministry of Urban Development launched the Smart Cities scheme to develop 100 cities across the nation, upgrading their standard of living by making them more citizen-friendly. This scheme is executed in phases, with each state government getting to nominate a few cities within its quota to develop as a “Smart City”.

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As a “Smart City”, there would be an improvement in infrastructure throughout model areas in the city, be it better pedestrian walkways, cycling lanes or parks, among many other benefits that would improve the quality of life in those areas. The program is being implemented in earnest in the shortlisted areas thus far, and show promise towards making life easier for citizens.

Currently, there are 99 cities nominated under the scheme, following the 5^th (and latest) selection round. Let’s hope it’s as smart a solution as they come.

• The Final Frontier

ISRO is an organization that has only been going from strength to strength with every new project. With the upcoming launch of Chandrayaan-2 this month, ISRO would add another feather to their cap, among their other remarkable feats. Since its creation, ISRO has launched 104 spacecraft missions, including 1 micro-satellite and 3 nano-satellites. Their Mars Orbiter Mission in particular, was a rousing success, making India the first country to stick the landing on Mars’ orbit on the very first try. Now, with Chandrayaan – 2, they aim to attempt a soft landing on the relatively unexplored South Pole of the Moon, which is no small feat. Another interesting info snippet is that Chandrayaan-2 costed less than Avengers: Endgame ($124m & $356m, respectively)! As ISRO gets ready for countdown, it’s safe to say that they’ve done India proud in the space race.

4. The New Fastrack

Our Indian Railways is a peculiar entity. While it holds the distinction of being the fourth largest railway network in the world, it’s also known for its various issues, especially its infrastructure and safety woes.

However, the IR has been taking proactive steps to provide better services to their vast user base. One such initiative is Mission Raftaar, which was proposed in the 2016-2017 Railway Budget. The core idea behind the plan was to make rail travel faster and more efficient, with a two-pronged approach of introducing new trains as well as slightly speeding up existing ones.

While the project languished in the pipeline for a fair while, the Indian Railways took the plunge this month, with 49 new trains being added to IR’s existing roster. 260 trains were also sped up with regard to their average speed, which would be around 110 minutes. Taking into consideration passenger comfort, the program also fitted 411 long-distance trains with new and improved coaches.

With programs like this, the Indian Railways are surely on the right track to progress.

5. Not Exactly By The Book

For the longest time, and maybe across generations, the majority of us have felt that our education system lacked something. All we hear and see are people pursuing engineering and medicine, usually under external pressure, all because other professions are seemingly “lowly”. Many debates and discussions have been held time and time again, on what our education system needs to gain a new lease of life and empower the youth of the country.

Then came a ray of hope. An idea, at its grassroot stage, presented before the MHRD that goes by the name of ‘National Educational Policy, 2019’.

Going by the pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability; the policy proposes what would be a soft rework of the education system, to be implemented over the coming years.

The policy takes a holistic approach to bettering our system, be it restructuring the school framework to be 5+3+3+4 years as opposed to 10+2 years, or making the curriculum seamless with respect to integrating talents. It also looks to reduce the load of content that students face under the current school curriculum system. Overall, there’s plenty of good things in store for India’s academics…if the Policy is implemented, so fingers crossed.

Obviously, there are more than just 5 things currently out there, working to do our nation proud. Some of them may see the light of day, while some others may not.

What’s important is to raise awareness about these initiatives, as well as the issues they seek to address. Who knows, maybe the next big changemaker could be an ordinary person, the quintessential common man. That’s the thing about change, though: It can come from anywhere, even the most unassuming of sources.