What Challenges Will India's 2024 Election Winner Face?
Ahead of the 2024 general election in India, Sputnik India reached out to experts to discuss the challenges that the newly elected government will face after taking power.
SputnikIndia of 2024, which has to undergo a general election after a few months, stands at a crucial juncture in its journey, as the political stability of the past years has helped it accelerate development in various sectors.
For India, 2024 brings along old issues that need to be given more attention in order to attain development goals.
Interacting with Sputnik India, defence expert retired Major General PK Sehgal identified defence and economy as two significant areas where the country will have to work relentlessly with some amount of political stability.
Crucial Fields for India in 2024
Defence and economy will remain two crucial sectors in 2024 in which India will have to strengthen itself to fuel
overall growth, experts feel.
“Political instability could arrest your growth. However, it’s good that the country has been having stable governments at the Centre for the past two decades”, Sehgal said responding to a query on the positives that India has as it starts a new year.
While expressing a sense of satisfaction with the growth in the country’s defence sector, he said that India, even if it may have achieved
certain important goals, has a lot to address.
“Securing borders and sea routes, preparing for a multi-front wars at one go and building up its reserves are some of the points that the central leadership has to keep in mind”, Sehgal told Sputnik India.
Defence Sector: Respond to Needs of Time
Elaborating on what is to be done in the field of defence by the government taking over after the upcoming March-April general election, the retired major general said that as technology changes rapidly, India cannot sit quietly and will have to upgrade according to the needs of new warfare systems.
“A missile, which has a cost factor attached to it, cannot be used every time you decide to hit an enemy. Hence drones, which are cheaper and easy to handle comparatively, are to be produced at a faster pace and in more numbers”, he said.
When asked what is to be done to strengthen further the country's defence, the veteran said: “Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant-India) is a good concept where home production of aircraft, arms and ammunition is being encouraged”.
He also expressed satisfaction that friendly countries like Russia have already been helping India by transferring crucial technology to build certain defence equipment in the country itself.
Economic Field: Grow in Economy, but Stagnation in Per Capita Income
Another well-known strategic expert, Qamar Agha, when asked about the challenges the country faces at the moment, said more attention is to be given to the economy of the country as it is a sector that affects all others.
“It’s good that India’s economy is growing well, but the fact that the per capita income still remains low is a cause of concern. Poverty is still a problem, which must be addressed”, he told Sputnik India, adding that India's agriculture system also needs more modern methods of irrigation.
Agriculture plays a major role in India’s economy and it should be given due importance. Successive governments have failed to provide solutions for irrigation-related issues in many parts of the country, he observed.
The growing economy and ever-improving education system remain two common points, and were seen as important positives for India in 2024 by the experts.
They both, however, suggested that consistent efforts on the political, defence, and economic fronts are needed to ensure the desired pace of growth.