India endured Covid-19 with great fortitude. Necessity is the mother of invention. The need of Aatmanirbhar Bharat was brought by the lack of domestic production of personal
protective equipment (PPE) when COVID-19 struck. That need gave rise to the movement of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan.Just few days before on 15th August and 74th year of our Independence Day, honourable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi expressed that when in family children are expected to be self-reliant at age of 21 then our country should also become self-reliant. He expresseddeep trust and confidence in us -the youth of this country.

Liberalisation during the 90's laid the foundation of the growth trajectory for India in Information technology that gave Birth to companies like Infosys who put India as the leader
in software export on the global map. At the same time the very concept of self-reliance was rubbished in the belief that it was tantamount to reinventing the wheel when advanced technologies could simply be bought from anywhere at lower costs. In the process India missed out on the industrial revolution comprising electronic goods, mobilephones and decentralized manufacturing. Today India is the world's second largest smartphone market but doesn't make any of these phones itself. At the same time, countries like Japan, China, Taiwan took huge technological strides.

Mr. Bill Gates once said that India is in an interesting position. It has both a deep understanding of the challenges and great capacity to help solve them. National mission given
by our Prime Minister Mr. Modi would consolidate the collective power of India to progress us on the path of growth and self-sustenance. Everyone has to play their bit of role to make this movement successful. The make in India initiative has encouraged global technology players to set up manufacturing plants in India. Such companies spend billions of dollars in R&D. We can learn from them and help Indian manufacturers to enter such domains in small steps. The skill India is a great initiative by the government. The biggest strength of India is its human resource. By investing in them and skilling them we lay the foundation of a very strong India. Mass quality public education is a must for self-reliant India.

Indian manufacturers should try to set up world class production capabilities which are not able to only fulfil the demands of India but cater to global audiences. As consumers we should be willing to buy more products which are made in India. This would help Indian businesses to grow and the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat to thrive. Aatmanirbhar Bharat in no way turned India away from international trade. we would continue trading with the world but at the same time develop competitive advantages in a few areas that would set us apart.On the occasion of Independence Day Prime Minister Mr. Modi mentioned that value addition is must to meet global requirements. This would require continuous focus on quality to meet global standards

India at 75: A Nation Marching towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat