77th Independence Day: Celebrating India's Achievements after 1947

From drafting the Indian Constitution to the launch of Chandrayaan- 3, India's story after August 15th 1947, has been a memorable tale of incredible progress & success. 

This year marking the 76th year of independence, PM Modi highlighted India's accomplishments in just 75 days of 2023, talking about some of his government's flagship schemes, the development of border villages & empowerment of women, like giving joint ownership of houses built under PM Awas Yojna etc. Yet, these recent achievements are just a glimpse of India has journey since breaking the chains of colonial rule.

So, As we step into the 76th year of our independence, why not try to jot down India's major achievements since 1947?

Key achievements of India post-independence

1. Drafting of the Indian Constitution

How can this not be the first of many achievements in the list? After all, our Indian Constitution earned us the title of the largest secular, democratic country in the world. 

• This was India's first big accomplishment after gaining independence, where it created its rulebook called the Constitution.

• This portrayed that India was ready to run its own country.  It laid down the framework that demarcates the government's and citizens' fundamental rights and duties.

2. India witnessed the first Lok Sabha Election in 1952

The biggest democracy in the world, India held its first general elections. from October 25th, 1951, to February 21st, 1952 following the country’s independence in August 1947. 

• On May 13th 1952, the first session of Lok Sabha officially opened. There were 489 seats in the lower house & 17.3 crore people were eligible to vote. 

• The results were such that 364 seats were won by the Indian National Congress (INC). Then, the first Lok Sabha was dissolved on April 4th, 1957, after serving its 5-year term. 

• Jawaharlal Nehru became India’s first democratically chosen Prime Minister.

3. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed in 1969

To advance planetary exploration and space science research alongside national development, ISRO was established in 1969. The Indian space program’s founding fathers, renowned scientist Vikram Sarabhai and India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, who founded INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) in 1962, are credited with creating ISRO, the successor of INCOSPAR

4. India’s first-ever rocket launch in 1963

The launch of the first sounding rocket from Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on November 21st 1963, demarcated the beginning of the Indian Space Programme. 

• Sounding rockets made it possible to probe the atmosphere in situ using rocket-borne instrumentation. 

• This was the first milestone in modern India’s space journey. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and his then accomplice Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, were the brainchild of this achievement.

5. Chandrayaan- India’s Lunar Odyssey

2008 was the year which saw a historic accomplishment as India’s first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, embarked on its journey to the moon from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This mission provided some of the most invaluable insights into lunar geology, chemistry, and mineralogy, elevating ISRO to a position of prominence in the global space community.

• In 2023, Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar exploration mission, lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota as per the scheduled launch time. 

• This mission will make India the fourth country to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon, demarcating India's ability for safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.

• This spacecraft was launched on a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle.

• The journey from Earth to the moon for the spacecraft is estimated to take around a month, and the landing is expected on August 23rd 2023.

6. Powerful Defence

Post-independence, India strengthened its defence so that history does not repeat itself in situations of war.

• In 1954, India became the first nation to launch the Atomic Energy Program.

• In 1974, India conducted “Smiling Buddha”, its first nuclear test, making its place on the list of five nuclear-powered nations.

• This test was one of the biggest achievements of India since independence.

• Today, India has the 2nd largest military force and largest voluntary army worldwide.

7. Green Revolution

Norman Borlaug, referred to as the “Father of the Green Revolution” globally, started the Green Revolution movement in the 1960s. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 due to his work creating high-yielding wheat varieties (HYVs).

• The Green Revolution was introduced in 1967.

• Despite being an agricultural state, India was food-deficient and relied heavily upon food grains import to feed the large population.

• So, this Green Revolution made India a self-sufficient nation.

• Today, India is the largest producer of pulses & the second-largest producer of rice, wheat & sugarcane globally.

8. India gets its first tribal President in 2022

India scripted history after Droupadi Murmu became the first tribal President of India. Her election as President was absolutely one- sided and was not contested at all. On defeating the Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, she also became the second woman President of India.

• On July 25th 2022, Droupadi Murmu took the oath of office as India’s 15th President. 

• The counting process for the votes in the Presidential election continued for more than 10 hours.

• In the end, the returning officer P C Mody declared Murmu the winner and said she got 6,76,803 votes against Sinha's 3,80,177 votes.

9. Operation Flood or White Revolution

White Revolution, as the name suggests, was the largest dairy development programme ever took place on January 13th 1970. This was an important undertaking for India’s National Dairy Development Board. Operation Flood was the world's most significant dairy evolution program, established in 1970.

• The National Dairy Development Board of India achieved milestones with the project.

• India evolved into a self-sufficient milk-production country because of the White Revolution, among the largest rural development agendas.

• It is also speculated that India’s dairy sector will grow 6% in 2023-24.

10. Polio Eradication

A significant achievement in India's journey after independence was wiping out polio. Polio is a dangerous disease which can cause paralysis, especially in children. India succeeded in preventing the spread of polio after several attempts. This portrayed India's ability to tackle health challenges on a large scale. 

• In 1994, India accounted for 60% of the world’s Polio cases.

• Within two decades, India got the “Polio-free certificate” from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014.

• The prevention of spread of Polio dramatically increased the life expectancy from 32 years (1947) to 68.89 years, shocking right?

Interesting Facts on India’s Achievement after Independence

• 1951- The Indian Railways were founded.

• 1951- India had its first general election.

• 1956- The Apsara nuclear reactor was Asia’s first nuclear reactor.

• 2008- Chandrayaan 1 was established this year.

• India's Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) made it the 4th space agency to reach Mars, demonstrating its space expertise.