Oct-
12 Issue
Top 10 Revolutions that
transformed India
It needs a vision to
bring about a paradigm change. And India has produced enough great visionaries,
in every century, who shaped her destiny. Under their leadership, India has
pioneered developments in agriculture, science, medicine, mathematics,
commerce, trade…in every sphere to catapult into the big league and make a
global impact. Two great revolutions in the 1970s – the green revolution and
the white revolution, led by two iconic men, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan and the late
Dr. Verghese Kurien respectively, helped India achieve self sufficiency in food
and milk. Similarly revolutions in science-and-technology, space, drugs,
telecommunications and information technology made India self reliant and brought
her prestige. OIOP October 2012 issue looks at the Top 10 revolutions that
transformed India.
In ‘Walking the green carpet’, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, known as the ‘Father
of Green Revolution in India’, and currently a Member of the Rajya Sabha stresses the need for a synergy among
technology, services, public policies and farmers’ enthusiasm to realise the
dream of an evergreen revolution.
In ‘The amazing transformation of Hivre Bazar’,
Dilip Chaware, veteran journalist, tells us the story of the unbelievable
transformation of Hivre Bazar, a once poverty-stricken, perennially drought-hit
village in Ahmednagar into a prosperous village. This transformation was led by
the village sarpanch Popatrao Pawar. We certainly need more such people in this
country.
In ‘Jahan
doodh ki nadiyan bahe…’ Dr. Amrita Patel, Chairman of the National Dairy
Development of India, writes about the White
Revolution, initiated by the late Dr. Verghese Kurien. Operation Flood considered
as the world’s largest rural employment generation programme of the time revolutionised
the dairy industry in India, making it the largest producer of milk and milk
products. 
In ‘The
cutting edge’, Dr. Ramesh A. Mashelkar, a FRS, National Research Professor,
highlights some of the greatest achievements in the field of science in the
last 50 years and tells us how India’s science-and-technology-led
revolutions have been instrumental in the country emerging as one of the
leaders amongst the knowledge and economic superpowers of the world.
In ‘Unleashing the atom power’, Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific
Advisor to GOI and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the
Cabinet, talks about The Atomic Energy Revolution which had
its genesis in the vision and courage of one man-Dr. Homi Bhabha. Dr.
Chidambaram emphasises that India cannot become a ‘developed’ country unless
its per capita electricity consumption increases six to eight times. This is
not possible unless a large part of it comes from nuclear power. However, he
cautions that we need stringent regulation to keep our nuclear reactors safe. 
‘The
sky is the limit’ gives an insight into India’s Space Revolution making it one of the few countries to innovatively
apply the technology in several areas which are critical to national development. Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member (Science) in
the Planning Commission, GOI, writes on India’s progress in space
technology and says that space has an inexhaustible store of secrets and
challenges and India’s quest in space has only just begun.
In ‘DRDO – the game changer in defence technology’, Dr. Vijay Saraswat,
distinguished scientist and Director General of DRDO, the premier national
organisation engaged in defence research writes how the Defence Revolution, transformed India.
He traces the momentous journey of DRDO (The Defence Research & Development
Organisation) from a fledgling inspection agency to a technology provider in
areas as diverse as missile defence and life support systems. But new
challenges loom, and the march to achieve total self-reliance in defence
technologies continues, says Dr. Saraswat. 
How the IT Revolution has impacted India is
there for all of us to see. In ‘This is
IT’, Kiran Karnik, a former President of India’s IT industry association,
NASSCOM, now an independent policy and
strategy analyst, says besides transforming India’s global image, the IT
industry has significantly contributed to creating jobs, bring about social
stability and inclusive development, and providing hope for a large number of
Indians. Its impact on gender and economic equality in small towns are equally
noteworthy.
The Telecom Revolution has been one of the
successful stories of India. In ‘Hello,
world’, Dr. Madhukar V. Pitke, who has been working in the field of computers
and communications for several years, says that despite the enormous
success in the field of telecom, there is still a vast market to be tapped. We
will be able to realise this potential only when we develop our own
technologies instead of being at the receiving end of those developed by other
countries, he adds. 
India has built several
institutions of repute – the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, the Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre, the Department of Atomic Energy, etc., that have
pioneered a number of scientific innovations. In ‘Insulated Institutions’, Dr. Itty Abraham who teaches international
relations and science and technology studies at the National University of
Singapore., says that the Department of Energy (DAE) undoubtedly gave rise
to many institutional innovations but its functioning raises a few questions. According
to Mr. Abraham, if the institution did not have the layers of insulation, the
failings of nuclear power in India would have been visible long before and its
existing shortcomings addressed by public policy and civil society much more
thoroughly.
India is at the
threshold of an Infrastructure
Revolution. In ‘Scaling brick by
brick’, Dilip Chaware, veteran journalist, writes that the infrastructure
is a critical factor in a nation’s development and since this sector
contributes substantially to the GDP of India, the government should remove
bottlenecks for quicker implementation of projects in all areas—roads,
power, railways, ports, coal, petroleum, steel, cement and fertilizers.
In ‘Face to Face’, Mr. Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group tells Anuradha Dhareshwar, Editor, OIOP, that it
is time for a second drug revolution in India. He speaks about the evolution
of India’s pharma industry, his latest acquisitions and the Group’s aspirations
to be the first Indian company to launch its own novel drug in the global
market.
In ‘Profiles of Dynamic Leadership’, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam spells
out nine unique dimensions of creative leadership for good governance.
Know
India Better
This
issue features two interesting articles in Know
India Better.
In
‘A Birding Paradise…and how to make the
most of it’, Jayanthi Mahalingam lures us into the magical world of bird
watching, which she says is the best way to beat stress, as the winged marvels
are a feast for the eyes and balm for the soul. India is one of the world’s
coveted destinations for bird watchers. Even bustling metros like Mumbai and
Delhi boast of a count of 150-200 species. Amol
Bhave has captured stunning close ups of some of the rare birds.
Akul
Tripathi, media professional and freelance writer, drives
down the most exotic stretch of road in this country—the Leh-Manali highway in
search of a snow leopard after hearing the exhilarating story about its
spotting, straight from the horse’s mouth. Does Akul spot the elusive cat? Read
‘Shan – the ghost of the mountains’
to know...
In ‘Great Indians’ we feature three iconic men who have pioneered
three of our greatest revolutions—the Space Revolution, the White Revolution
and the IT Revolution that transformed India –
Vikram
Sarabhai, Father of Indian Space Programme (1912-1971); 
Mehta, A true champion of the Indian IT industry (1964-2001). 