Previous victory, joy and pain: 2023 How to see the birth of a new higher power

East 2023 remembers that India has become a multinational country and has become the first country to become Antarctic in the world. Indian Navy employees ordered an appeal.

Following the Maternity Missionary Project and the prestigious G20 hosting, India is ready to enter the new optimism in 2024 (working with a $ 5 trillion economy in 2025), and ambitions play an appointed role. The country's attractiveness as an investment hub remains strong, leveraging its skilled talent pool, domestic technology and innovation, and special policies from central and state governments to attract global companies like Apple and Tesla. Our country aims to achieve the status of an advanced country by 2047. Ahead of the 2024 general elections, it is no surprise that voters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are eyeing growth, infrastructure development, and investment.

Looking back, 2023 was a year of key moments that shaped India's trajectory. Here is a brief overview of the key events that shaped the year in India.


great achievement
on the cold side of the moon

An Indian cow jumped on the moon when the third lunar probe, Chandrayaan 3, became the first spacecraft to land on the moon's south pole region. India joins the former Soviet Union, the United States, and China as the only countries to plant their flag on a satellite on Earth. The Moon's South Pole is believed to contain ice, making it a prime target for lunar observatories and further exploration. There was a time when PM Modi declared, "India is a superpower" but other countries ignored it. It is a source of greatest pride for the country of 1.4 billion people and for S. Somnath, the director of the Indian Space Research Organisation, who died in Modi's arms four years ago after Chandrayaan 2 failed to carry out a similar mission. pride. Victory. After accomplishing the main objectives of the mission, ISRO tried to revive the mission in -200 degrees Celsius temperatures at the lunar south pole, but to no avail.

By 2027, India plans to launch a new lunar mission to return samples from the lunar surface. Bolstered by Chandrayaan and another landmark mission to the sun this year, Modi directed ISRO to build a space station by 2035 and send the first Indian to the moon by 2040.

The first grandmaster in the world

In August, Rameshbabu Pragnanandhaa (also known as Pragg) almost lost to Magnus Carlsson in a tiebreak at the World Chess Cup in Baku. If he wins, he will become the world chess champion. The only Indian to achieve this was Magnus' predecessor Viswanathan Anand (title holder from 2007 to 2013). In December, her older sister Vaishali joined Pragg as Grandmaster after breaking the 2,500 Elo mark in a Spanish tournament. They were the first brothers in the world to become Grand Masters. There is a long list of brothers who became Grand Masters including Vignesh NR from India and Visakh NR who became Grand Masters in February 2023. According to "The Chess Journal", there are approximately 1,200 grandmasters worldwide. And currently, there are 82 grandmasters in India.

But the real star was Vaishali-Pragg's mother N Nagalakshmi. She is a beaming Tamil 'Amma' who has been traveling and cooking for Pragg since the age of seven. "I feel proud that people are talking about my mother," Vaishali said after a concert in Baku.

A wonderful getaway in Uttarkashi

Indian authorities rescued 41 people who were trapped for 17 days when the Sikhara-Barkot tunnel under construction in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand collapsed on November 12. Although the report suggested that tunnel rules were broken in the Char Dam pilgrimage project (the fragile Himalayan ecosystem would have been better served by a wide road rather than a series of tunnels), the rescue was an interesting story with many twists and turns. Then he turned onto the high road. Authorities came up with a six-point plan, the most important of which involved using an American-made Auger machine to push six pipes through the rubble to open an escape route for the trapped workers. My car broke down twice. So they had to use "pit digging," a dangerous (and illegal) method that involved digging a tunnel wide enough for a skinny man to reach the prisoners. Finally, the 80 cm pipe was removed and the trapped men escaped. It was an example of Indian 'jugaad' (hack) and persistence. It is also a proud moment of confidence.

G20 presidency, Indian style

September's G20 summit was touted as a testament to Modi's brilliance and vision. Held at Pragati Maidan, a converted fair in India, the event boasted cutting-edge technology and spicy food. The roads were cleared of dogs, sheds, and journalists. People were "encouraged" to stay at home, but unlike the G20 summit in Hangzhou, the Chinese government paid for its citizens to be flown out of the city during the holidays. Prime Minister Modi ended the debate with a "clean" resolution, which he described as a "victory for India" and a "victory for multipolarity", as the Delhi Declaration adopted a day earlier, after securing a 100% consensus on 83 points. Enable. The final statement, which did not include any mention of Russia on the conflict in Ukraine - was a major disappointment for India's role as a negotiator and Washington and its allies.

In addition to the Delhi Declaration at the G20 summit, the Indian leader quickly named the African Union as a member before the Europeans turned a blind eye. He defended the southern hemisphere even as he firmly held the hand of US President Joe Biden. Yes, it is a triumph of will.

India wrested the G20 presidency baton from Indonesia and handed it over to a reluctant Brazil. But by 2023, management will produce as much milk as possible. He was rewarded by voters in a Hindi village who shouted "Modiji created the G20" as they waited in line to receive free grain.

It's raining on the Indians

By the end of April, India's population had reached 1.45 billion, overtaking China to become the most populous country on Earth. About 50 years ago, it was believed that rapid population growth in the South was causing problems for the planet due to resource depletion and climate change. Of course, the good news is that Earth still has another 4.5 billion years to live. Even better news is that countries like India are considering colonizing the Moon, Mars, and maybe even other worlds. For India, a growing population means a younger, more productive nation that can turn its neighbors into new manufacturing hubs for the world. But New Delhi has bigger problems: poverty and literacy. This year, the United Nations praised India for lifting 135 million people out of poverty in the past five years. About 15% of India's population lives in poverty, up from 24.8% in 2015-2016. Moreover, in just 9 years, India has managed to provide empty bank accounts or 'Jan Dhan' to 509 million people, which is a remarkable achievement. Experts estimate that it would typically take 47 years to achieve financial inclusion on this scale.

The new advice of the crows

Perhaps the most populous country in the world needs new buildings, not to mention the nine oldest of the "10 most impressive parliaments" or "10 most beautiful parliaments". (If you're curious, the Hungarian Parliament always comes first.) But it was associated with colonial architecture, and that's what PM Modi said when he inaugurated the building. "The new Parliament is more than a building, it symbolizes the ambitions of India's 1.4 billion people," he said.

But the first "winter" session held in the new building was marred by controversies over security measures. On December 13, several men in their 20s rushed into a room at the invitation of a regime deputy and lit colored, non-toxic smoke bombs. The incident occurred on the first anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian parliament, in which six police officers, two members of Parliament's security, a gardener, and five terrorists were killed. The mastermind of the attack later surrendered and a total of six people were charged under the Indian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is also investigating violations. Most of the members have been suspended due to alleged violations. As the world's largest democracy enters the new year with high ambitions for the 2024 general elections, some in its political ranks believe that the new home of democracy, Bharat, has arrived in India with a new approach to democracy.

lighting is not very high
Small stone on the shoe of a fast national runner

A popular TV anchor once said that Northeast India suffered from the "tyranny of distance" from the country's political center. It is an inconvenience for victims of the sectarian conflict in Manipur, a small country bordering Myanmar, between the Christian Kuki people who live in the hills and the Meite Hindu people who live in the plains. It started with one group wanting social benefits and the other opposing them. The violence began on May 3 and continues today. 175 people died. Videos of women being sexually assaulted and protests spread quickly, sparking outrage across the country. The opposition questioned the Modi-led government and the prime minister himself over the months-long silence that was broken on July 20. Prime Minister Modi said the incident was "a disgrace to any civilized nation" and that "justice will be done".

Ultimately, the Supreme Court overruled the state. The Prime Minister urged both communities to follow the path of "forgiveness and forgetting". A grim reminder of what happened in Manipur on December 15 was the mass burial of 87 bodies (including a one-month-old baby who was not hospitalized during the evacuation from the riot zone).

Addressing the Collective Consciousness

India has been in the news worldwide after a month-long protest by female wrestlers, including an Olympic medalist, against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. They accused him of sexual harassment. The power did not move. Singh is a strong member of the ruling BJP. The BJP wields influence in several constituencies in India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, and its control is central to its national power.

This time too, the Supreme Court had to step in and force the Delhi Police to file a case. Despite the charges being so watered down that they would have failed in court, Singh was forced to resign. But the final straw came in December when Singh's right-hand man was chosen to replace him at WFI. Champion wrestlers like Sakshi Mallik left the sport in tears, while male wrestler Balbir Punia returned his Padma Shri award. Finally, the government responded on December 24 by suspending the WFI and removing its newly elected leaders.

target diplomacy

The Khalistan movement to separate Punjab from India in the 1980s was a bloody and horrific period that claimed the life of the late Indira Gandhi, the current Prime Minister. It is for the first time that road inspections have become a part of life in Delhi. The movement disappeared from Punjab but found a new home in some gurdwaras (Sikh temples) in the west.

In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament that Indian intelligence agencies engineered the June killing of Sikh activist Hardip Singh Nizar outside a British Columbia gurdwara. India has denied the allegations, but Trudeau's actions have sparked an unprecedented diplomatic row. The two countries expelled each other's intelligence agencies, and India expelled 41 diplomats and temporarily suspended visa services for Canadians. India's anger subsided two months later when the New York district attorney indicted Nikhil Gupta and an unnamed Indian official on charges of attempted assassination of American citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The United States is not opposed to the killing of foreigners abroad. There are many examples. But the street thug won't even let his new best friend go. Especially when your friend has problems with Russia and Gaza. No wonder Modi told the Financial Times that the "incident" should not disrupt friendly relations between the US and India.

death from cough syrup

Cough medicines made in India will be scrutinized again in 2022 after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning about four brands of cough medicine manufactured by Indian pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceuticals and exported to Gambia, West Africa. At least 69 children there died from acute kidney injuries that may have been linked to cough and cold medicine. The government "arrogantly" tried to destroy the WHO by claiming that India's cough syrup was contaminated. But similar cases were soon discovered in Uzbekistan, where the health ministry linked the deaths of dozens of children to the consumption of cough syrup produced by Marion Biotech in Noida, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The company purchased propylene glycol, a syrup chemical, from a trader in Delhi who did not have a license to sell pharmaceuticals and only traded at the "industrial level". Months later, New Delhi ordered Madhya Pradesh-based Riemann Labs to suspend operations in March 2023 following claims that its cough syrup was linked to the deaths of at least six children in Cameroon.

The pharmaceutical industry is a $50 billion industry in India, which calls itself the pharmacy of the world. Given the scale of the stakes involved and India's ambitions to lead the global south, India's drug regulator has taken action. It has been reported that 50 cough medicine manufacturers have failed quality tests. Last December, the Indian government banned the use of cold medicines in children under 4 years of age.

train tragedy

In June last year, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, the Coromandel Express (from Kolkata to Chennai) collided with a freight train, causing the carriage to derail and collide with another high-speed train, killing around 300 Indians and injuring 1,200. Bengaluru). - In the opposite direction Howrah Express. The Indian Railways announced the results of an official investigation into the fatal accident, saying a signal error was the cause of the accident. The report concluded that the tragedy could have been avoided if corrective action had been taken after a similar failure in 2022.

The Indian railway industry is the backbone of the country's economy. With more than 1.4 million employees working on the 67,850 km route, Indian Railways is the largest employer in India. It has been the most popular form of transport in Britain since the British built their railways. Starting with Calcutta in the 1980s, Indian cities have introduced metro projects. The government is working hard to design urban infrastructure projects, including the $20 billion 741 km Nagpur-Mumbai high-speed rail or Prime Minister Modi's mega-project, the "groundbreaking Vande Bharat" high-speed train. It's a "serve the country" rail initiative but building the infrastructure for the next century could be in vain if everyday needs such as road replacement, improved signaling, and collision avoidance technology are ignored.