11 Acts/Reforms introduced by Atal Bihari Vajpayee that no one knew about-
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-Anjali Ankad
The whole nation, today, pays homage to a leader who scripted history in becoming parliamentarian par excellence. He had gained the trust, affection, and belief of the people in his leadership which many leaders have failed to do so. He is none other than former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On his 96th birth anniversary today, the day is also celebrated as Good Governance Day.
Many people know about his achievements. One of them was Nuclear Test Pokhran. India had the nuclear capability for a long time, but what's missing was a Will to stand against the sanctions after the nuclear test. He stood like a rock against Sanctions and proved his Will to Nation. He also gave a befitting reply to our enemies and a strong message to the world that India will be offensive if necessary through Kargil War. However, not many people about his other achievements that made him much more than a people's leader.
On his birth anniversary let us lesser-known acts/reforms laid down by Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
1. Golden Quadrilateral:
The importance of roads and the importance of connectivity was a hallmark step by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A simple step with mammoth funding was played a massive step in boosting the economy of India. He laid the foundation stone for the project on 6 January 1999.
The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is a national highway network connecting most of the major industrial, agricultural and cultural centers of India. It forms a quadrilateral connecting the four major metro cities of India, viz., Delhi (north), Kolkata (East), Mumbai (west), and Chennai (south). Other cities connected by this network include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Durgapur, Jaipur, Kanpur, Pune, Kolhapur, Surat, Vijayawada, Ajmer, Vizag, Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, Mathura, Dhanbad, Gandhinagar, Udaipur, and Vadodara. The main objective of these superhighways is to reduce the distance and time between the four mega cities of India.
2. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana:
The flagship program by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which gave the power of connectivity to a villager, is one of the most successful program ever in Independent India. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages.
3. Electricity Act, 2003
A single biggest step of laying down emphasis on not just creation, but also on distribution and many other aspects of the Power sector finds its womb in Electricity Act, 2003. Vajpayee Ji always thought about the future.
The act introduced by Vajpayee Ji covers major issues involving generation, distribution, transmission, and trading in power. While some of the sections have already been enacted and are yielding benefits, there are a few other sections that are yet to be fully enforced to date.
4. Telephone Reforms :
Thank Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the smartphone people flaunt. Those were the days, where the incoming was charged Rs 8 per minute and outgoing calls were charged at Rs 15 per minute. He was the one who brought a revolution to the Telecom Sector. No wonder he is called as "Father of Modern Telecom In India".
The smartphone's vice-like grip on us is due to the telecom policy brought in by Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was the prime minister of India. he entrusted his minister - the late Pramod Mahajan - to reform the telecom sector of India. A new telecom policy was framed offering great opportunities for private companies to expand.
Today, India is among the three largest smartphone markets and is expected to overtake the US to become the second-biggest by next year. Interestingly, Time magazine had once dubbed Atal Bihari Vajpayee as "computer illiterate" but he ended up revolutionizing the telecom sector in India.
5. Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 (FRBMA) :
His government institutionalize financial discipline, reduce India's fiscal deficit, kept the target that debt should be restricted to 3 % of state and nation's GDP. It is an Act to institutionalize financial discipline, reduce India's fiscal deficit, improve macroeconomic management, and the overall management of the public funds by moving towards a balanced budget, and strengthen fiscal prudence.
6. Contributory Pension Scheme :
He introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme by which the responsibility of the future is shared with the employee and not just the government, which paved the way to invest monies in avenues.
7. India Beyond Delhi :
It was under his government's to let the foreign dignitaries tour different parts of India as we have many cultures and was a major step in openings the states to pitch directly, rather than depending on central government.
8. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan :
Education for All Movement was introduced by #AtalBihariVajpayee aimed at the universalisation of elementary education, making free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 6 to 14 a fundamental right.
9. Private/ Economic Revolution :
Just do a search on the list of MNC's which came/prospered between 1999 - 2004. The base for a stronger middle class was laid by numerous efforts of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The evolution of assertive middle-class journey started in this era.
10. FDI - Insurance & Banking Sectors :
Opening up of FDI's in the Insurance and Banking sector has given India many success stories. When we read about ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, there are many success stories and the seed for this was laid by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The article is based on the Twitter thread.