Dear Readers and Patrons, year 2014 is on the verge of becoming history. We are hereby giving you a list of 14 national events which we think best symbolized this complete year. And why we chose just 14 events? Because, 14 symbolized year 2014 for us and many amongst us. We chose 14 events that best represented India in 2014. We hope that this brief summary of 2014 would prove beneficial for all of our readers as it sums-up year 2014 in a nutshell. So happy reading and we await your feedback.
1
Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister of India
The biggest event of 2014 was undoubtly the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 16th General Elections and emergence of Narendra Modi as the most powerful leader in recent times. Modi led the BJP to an unprecedented victory in the elections and gave the country the most stable government in the past three decades. Modi helped the country receive first single-party majority in 30 years – and turned politics on its head. BJP won record 282 seats in these elections and almost plundered Congress, as it could win just 44 seats. Narendra Modi wave brought a shockingly high mandate from Uttar Pradesh (UP), where it won as many as 71 seats on its own out of 80 seats. BJP won 100% seats in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The party got handsome gains in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Assam. Narendra Modi defeated AAP’s convener Arvind Kejriwal by a huge margin of around 3 lakh 70 thousand votes in Varanasi constituency. Modi took oath as India’s 15th Prime Minister in a lavish ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 26 May 2014. Head of states from SAARC countries added weight to his swearing-in ceremony.
2
Telangana becomes newest state of India
Formation of Telangana as the newest State of the Indian Union was another historic and important event of 2014. The stroke of midnight hour on 1-2 June 2014 heralded Telangana’s birth as the 29th state of the Union, ending decades of turbulent struggle for the region in Andhra Pradesh. Turning the clock back 57 years when Telugu-speaking Telangana region of Hyderabad was merged with Andhra state in November 1956, a new state of Telangana came into being, capping numerous struggles for statehood. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao took oath as the first Chief Minister of Telangana on 2 June 2014. It became the newest state in India since Jharkhand was established as the 28th state in November 2000.
3
Mars Mission (MOM) creates history
India created history on 24 September 2014 by becoming the first country to successfully send a spacecraft into Mars’ orbit on its very first attempt. The mission executed by country’s space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) became successful after the first signal of the Mars Orbiter Mission’s (MOM’s) success was confirmed from NASA’s ground station in Canberra, Australia. With this ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to reach Mars after NASA (US), European Space Agency (Europe) and Roscosmos (Russia). India also became the first Asian country to successfully execute a Mars mission. MOM commenced its journey to the red planet Mars on 5 November 2013 through a launch from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh. The launch was done through ISRO’s reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C25 rocket. The MOM finally reached its destination – the Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. The orbiter’s propulsion system, called the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM), erupted into life at 7.17 a.m. after remaining dormant for 300 days during the spacecraft’s journey to the Red Planet. With this the orbit entered into most crucial manoeuvre called Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI). This meant for lowering the spacecraft into the Martian orbit, with a peri-apsis of 423 km and an apo-apsis of 80,000 km. The manoeuvre ended successfully at 7.41 a.m., thus enabling India to make history.
4
Supreme Court recognizes transgenders as ‘third gender’
The recognition of transgenders as ‘third gender’ by the Supreme Court of India on 15 April 2014 was a watershed event in India’s history. In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court created the “third gender” status for ‘hijras’ or transgenders. Earlier, they were forced to write male or female against their gender. In another important order it asked the Centre to treat transgender as socially and economically backward. Hence transgenders will be treated on par with other backward castes (OBCs) and they will be given educational and employment reservation as OBCs. The apex court passed the order on a PIL filed by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) urging the court to give separate identity to transgenders by recognising them as third category of gender. The order was considered a watershed event in India’s history as it was for the first time that the third gender has got a formal recognition. The SC observed that the absence of law recognizing hijras as third gender could not be continued as a ground to discriminate them in availing equal opportunities in education and employment. This ruling came after the Supreme Court’s decision in December 2013 which criminalised gay sex by reversing a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court order which had decriminalised homosexual acts. Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan headed the two-judge Supreme Court bench which gave this ruling.
5
First signs of GST Regime in India
Introduction of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill in the Lok Sabha on 19 December 2014 by Union Finance Minister is expected to be a watershed development in Indian history. The GST is being seen as the biggest reform in the Indian economy since the economic reforms were unleashed during 1991-92. The GST will cut down the large number of taxes imposed by the central government and states and will lead to the creation of a unified market, which would facilitate seamless movement of goods across states and reduce the transaction cost of businesses. Economists say the implementation of GST could add 2% points to GDP growth of the country. The revised GST Bill takes into account the deal reached between the Centre and states on 15 December 2014 on contentious issues like including petroleum, alcohol and tobacco in GST. These items account for a major portion of states’ tax revenues. At present, petroleum products will be not be included in the GST but will remain within the central act and will be brought in at a later stage through the GST councils. Alcohol will be exempt from GST and states would have the freedom to decide their own levy. Service tax will be subsumed within GST. In case of losses in the states’ exchequer, the Centre will give 100% compensation for the first three years, 75% compensation for the fourth year and 50% compensation for the fifth year.
6
INS Vikramaditya becomes part of Indian Navy
The commissioning of India’s largest naval ship – the INS Vikramaditya was also a landmark important event of 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated this huge ship to the nation on 14 June 2014 at a programme held in Goa. INS Vikramaditya, a floating airfield, has an overall length of about 284 metres and a maximum beam of about 60 metres, stretching as much as three football fields put together. Standing about 20 storeys tall from the keel to the highest point, the ship has a total of 22 decks and carries 1,600 personnel. With her complete stock of provisions, she is capable of sustaining herself at sea for about 45 days. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet (until the dissolution of the Soviet Union) and Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996 as it was too expensive to operate. Later it was renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BC emperor.
7
India declared Polio-free country
In a landmark achievement for India during 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 27 March 2014 officially certified India as a polio-free country with no case of the disease being reported in the country for three years. India had on 13 February 2014 completed three consecutive years without a single wild polio case being reported from any part of the country. It thus achieved the three-year milestone necessary to achieve polio-free certification from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The last case of polio in India was reported on 13 January 2011 in Howrah (West Bengal). Along with India 10 other countries were also declared polio free on 27 March. These 10 countries were – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. It is worth mentioning that India embarked on the programme to eradicate polio 19 years ago in 1995, when the disease used to cripple more than 50,000 children in the country every year. A 2.3 million strong team of polio volunteers and 150,000 supervisors worked day and night to reach every child.
8
Kailash Satyarthi wins Nobel Peace Prize
Child-rights activist Kailash Satyarthi’s being conferred the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize (jointly with Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai) was also one of the foremost events for India during 2014. Satyarthi was given this prestigious award on 10 December 2014 at Oslo (Norway). He and Malala were jointly selected for this prestigious award for their efforts against the suppression of children in their respective countries. Kailash Satyarthi thus became the seventh Indian to win Nobel Prize and the second to win the Peace Prize. The movement named ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ was founded by him in 1983. This movement has helped rescue over 80 thousand children from bondage, trafficking and exploitative labour. In association with NGOs and other authorities, Kailash has organized hundreds of raids on factories and warehouses where children were being made to work. One of the most pioneering works of Kailash Satyarthi has been the establishment of the ‘Rugmark’ tag to be used on rugs and carpets to certify that they have been made without the labour of children. These rugs and carpets are exported abroad from India and other South Asian countries. Western countries were particularly receptive of accepting articles made by employing cheap child labour is apparently hazardous occupation of carpet weaving. ‘Rugmark’ is now known as ‘Goodweave’. ‘Goodweave’ is now a network of non-profit organisations which are dedicated to end illegal child labour in rug and carpet making.
9
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
Year 2014 would be remembered for the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) or ‘Clean India Mission’ launched in the country which aims to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched SBA officially on 2 October 2014 from Rajghat, the Mahatma Gandhi memorial in Delhi by himself wielding a broom and cleaning a road. The SBA will be a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary (2 October 2019), as the Government wants to celebrate it with a spick, span and clean India. This goal of a clean India was also set by the previous UPA government and the erstwhile government’s plan was to achieve 100% access to sanitation for all rural households in the country by 2022. The urban component of the SBA is proposed to be implemented over 5 years in all 4,041 statutory towns. The total expected cost of the programme is Rs. 62,009 crore, out of which the proposed central assistance will be of Rs. 14,623 crore. The Union Cabinet during September 2014 also decided to merge the ‘Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan’, a campaign for rural sanitation with “Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan”.
10
PMJDY launched
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 August 2014 launched the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). It is a dream project of NDA govt. to open at least one bank account to every household. The announcement of PMJDY was made by the Prime Minister on his first Independence Day speech on 15 August 2014. It has been conceived as a national mission on financial inclusion with the objective of covering all households in the country with banking facilities and having a bank account for each household. Under this scheme the account holders are provided a zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, in addition to accidental insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh (to be given by ‘HDFC Egro’). The National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) has tied up with HDFC Ergo to provide the 1 Lakh initial cover while the additional 1 Lakh cover would be provided by the four state owned general insurers New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance Company. The first phase of the mission, which started on 28 August 2014, would end in August next year. The second phase will start from 2015 till 2018, covering aspects such as micro insurance and pension schemes like ‘Swavalamban’. It was reported that under PMJDY, a total of 7 Crore (70 million) bank accounts have been opened with deposits totaling more than 5000 crore Rupees (approx 1 billion USD) as of 6 November 2014. As the government met the target, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley revised the target for opening of bank accounts under the scheme from 7.5 crore to 10 crore by 26 January 2015.
11
National Youth Policy 2014
The erstwhile UPA Govt. launched the ambitious ‘National Youth Policy 2014′ (NYP 2014) on 21 February 2014. NYP 2014 is important from many aspects. It is a comprehensive policy document that states the vision of the Government of India (GOI) for the youth of the country and also how this vision is sought to be realised by the government. It replaced the National Youth Policy 2003 (NYP 2003) that was in force. NYP 2014 caters to needs of the youth in the age-group of 15-29 years, which constitutes 27.5% of population. The main vision of NYP 2014 is to empower youth to achieve their full potential, and through them enable India to find its rightful place in the community of nations. For achieving this vision, the Policy identified five well-defined objectives and 11 priority areas and suggests policy interventions in each priority area. The priority areas are education, skill development and employment, entrepreneurship, health and healthy lifestyle, sports, promotion of social values, community engagement, participation in politics and governance, youth engagement, inclusion and social justice. It seeks to achieve a productive workforce through education, skill development for better employability and entrepreneurship training; a healthy generation with sports as a way of life; a sense of community service and strong social values; high levels of participation in governance; and social inclusiveness by creating equitable opportunities for all.
12
Prime Minister’s historic foreign visits
Year 2014 would be remembered for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visits to foreign countries. His visits to Bhutan, Nepal, the United States, Japan, Brazil and Australia were hailed as major successes in numerous diplomatic quarters. It was said that no Prime Minister of recent times was able to assert India so powerfully abroad as was Narendra Modi.
Bhutan visit
His first foreign visit after assuming charge was that of Bhutan. Modi described Bhutan as a natural choice for his first visit abroad as the two countries shared a “special relationship”. The fact that the Prime Minister chose Bhutan as his first foreign destination assumed significance since China has lately intensified efforts to woo it and establish full- fledged diplomatic ties with Thimphu. During this visit both countries reaffirmed their commitment to extensive development cooperation and discussed ways to further enhance economic ties.
Nepal visit
Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Nepal in 17 years and he suggested that now it will not take 17 more years that an Indian Prime Minister visits Nepal. The focus of Modi’s visit to Nepal was on 4 Cs — cooperation, connectivity, culture, constitution. He enthralled Nepali MPs through his powerful address to the Nepali Parliament. Important development of this visit was that both India and Nepal agreed to review, adjust and update the “Treaty of Peace and Friendship” of 1950 with an objective of charting a new course in bilateral relations. That ancient treaty allowed free movement of people and goods between the two nations and a close relationship and collaboration on matters of defence and foreign affairs.
Japan visit
Narendra Modi’s Japan visit was also dubbed as highly successful as India was able to convince Japan to look towards India as the most stable and safe investment option. Japan promised to give $35 billion to India through public and private funding over the next 5 years for developmental projects, including building of smart cities and cleanup of river Ganges. In another significant move Japan lifted the ban on six Indian entities including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which was imposed in the aftermath of 1998 nuclear tests. In Kyoto, a pact was signed under which Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi will be developed on the pattern of Kyoto ‘smart city’ with the help of Japan.
US Visit
The major success of Narendra Modi’s US visit was that the US clearly stated that it was ready to reset its ties with India in coming days. US President Barack Obama set aside some protocols to display his bonhomie with Modi. There was great convergence between the two sides on peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. Modi enthralled the audience at New York’s Madison Square Garden as he pitch 3D Mantra, skill development, talent pool and India’s bright economic prospects in his address. During his speech at the UN General Assembly he called for work in the direction of a sustainable world.
Australia visit
Narendra Modi’s Australia visit was also highly successful as he was able to bring Australia closer after the relations between the two countries were strained in 2009, over attacks on Indian students in Australia. In a major step towards realising its nuclear energy ambitions, India successfully signed the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (CNCA) with Australia. The deal thus concluded uranium sales talks that started between the two countries during 2012. India and Australia had held five rounds of negotiations on the uranium deal since 2012, when Australia reversed its policy on nuclear sales to India. The policy was based on India’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
13
Train connectivity to Northeast/Monorail/HighSpeed and Bullet trains
Year 2014 came out as a year for major reckoning for Indian Railways with some major announcements, connectivity and projects. The talks of high-speed trains and bullet trains in India gained momentum in 2014.
High speed train
Indian Railways on 3 July 2014 achieved a major milestone by running the fastest train in India (christened ‘semi-bullet train’ by some segments of media). This test train achieved fastest speed of 160 km/hr on Indian tracks and covered the distance between Delhi and Agra (178 km) in around 99 minutes. The regular high-speed train between Delhi and Agra has been named ‘Gatimaan Express’ and will take 105 minutes to cover 200 km distance.
In the Rail Budget 2014-15 nine sectors were proposed for operations of high-speed trains. These nine sectors are – Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Chandigarh, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Goa-Mumbai, Chennai-Hyderabad, Delhi-Kanpur, Delhi-Pathankot, Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai, and Nagpur-Secundrabad.
Bullet Train project
As far as bullet train is concerned, the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor has been proposed for establishment of India’s first bullet train. During 2014 the feasibility study on this project was carried out by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Air-conditioned bullet trains are expected to operate in the corridor at speeds of 320 kmph, enabling commuters to traverse the 534-km distance in 2 hours.
Train connectivity to Northeast
Year 2014 would be remembered for major achievements in train connectivity to India’s Northeastern region. On 7 April 2014 Arunachal Pradesh’s capital Itanagar became the second capital in the Northeastern region to have rail-connectivity. This became possible after commissioning of the newly built 20-km Harmuti-Naharlagun railway line that connects Itanagar. Till now Assamese capital Guwahati was the only North-Eastern state capital with direct train connectivity. Itanagar received the first passenger train on this day from Dekargaon.
Similarly Meghalaya came on the railway map of India on 29 November 2014 with commencement of first train service from this state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first train from Meghalaya – the 55819 Up Mendipathar – Guwahati. Mendipathar is the first railway station in Meghalaya and train connectivity in the state became possible due to construction of the 19.75 km long line from Dudhnoi in Assam to Mendipathar.
Jammu-Katra train connectivity
In another major initiative the rail-link for Katra was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4 July 2014 by flagging off the inaugural train from Katra to Jammu. The Katra-Udhampur rail section also features India’s longest steel girder bridge – the Jhajjar Bridge. Katra railway station has been named Mata Vaishno Devi railway station while the first direct train between New Delhi and Katra was named as Shree Shakti Express. This train started its regular journey from 14 July 2014.
14
Accidents in the Indian Navy
Year 2014 would also be remembered some major accidents in the Indian Navy. The accident on board INS Sindhuratna (a kilo-class submarine) led to the resignation of the then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D K Joshi on 26 February 2014, who owned moral responsibility. Two naval officers were killed in this accident. Joshi thus became the first military chief to resign from his post since independence. Other naval accidents that took place during 2014 involved INS Betwa, INS Kolkata, INS Airawat, INS Ganga and INS Vipul.
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