Session Outline:
Two closed door roundtable discussions will be held during the National Legislators Conference Bharat on June 16th and 17th 2023. These discussions are aimed to take stock of the progress made by Independent Bharat from 15th August 1947 till now and look at the road ahead to 2047. The discussion will dwell on “What is our collective aspiration as we look forward to 2047?”. It will also cover the metrics denoting landmarks that we should focus on achieving by then?”

Day 2
Tangible & Measurable metrics

Going beyond the economic growth we need to look at additional metrics of development. While many metrics come to fore, following key metrics deserve continued focus to ensure we build a conducive tomorrow for all. Bharat’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has seen considerable progress over the last few decades. MMR (national estimate, per 100,000 live births) has reduced from 483 in 1993 to 143 in 2017. IMR (per 1,000 live births) has reduced from 161 in 1960 to 25.5 in 2021. We still have a great deal of efforts to ensure the divergence exists within the states of Bharat.
In order to enable policies that are favourable to half the population of India, i.e. women, a good start will be to enhance the women representation in legislative and parliamentary elections. While the elections to local bodies have reserved 50% of the seats for women, the women representation in the parliament is less than 15%. Similarly, women representation in the states is much lower at 9%.

A concerted effort from all is required to ensure we work towards a society that is inclusive and conducive for all.
In addition to the above tangible and measurable metrics various intangible aspects of progress need to be covered. India’s growth can also be measured as a desired destination for its popular sporting obsession with Cricket, Hockey, Kabbadi and other sports. They have a huge following and the sporting legends are treated with great admiration. Movies from various languages ranging from Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and others now have staunch viewers and fans not just in Bharat but in many countries such as US, UK, Japan, Middle East amongst others.

In this background, how can the political leaders establish progressive goals to achieve a more inclusive Bharat by 2047? How can our soft power be channelized to aid an inclusive growth roadmap for all? Can we aspire to be a country with 80 years’ life expectancy, MMR of 10 deaths per 100,000 live births and IMR of 1.8 deaths/1,000 live births?