Role of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in strengthening India’s long-term economic growth

Abstract

The Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative has been introduced in India in 2020, also known as Self-reliant India. That is a major economic initiative taken by PM Narendra Modi to build India independently sustainable with global competitiveness. An approach that will shift India towards strengthening domestic capabilities and building a more self-reliant economy. Aatmanirbhar Bharat focuses on Make in India for the world that will reduce the excessive dependence on imports and enhance the competitiveness of Indian industries. This study explores how this initiative has influenced India’s GDP growth trajectory by examining macroeconomic trends before and after its implementation. The study will rely on the secondary data from the official national and international sources based on the requirement of the paper. The paper will analyse changes in sectoral performance, particularly in Manufacturing, MSME and Agriculture. The findings will show that policies like Production linked incentive schemes, supports small businesses and increased government investment helped to improve domestic production and created better conditions for economic growth. Although India’s GDP growth has shown improvement in recent years, the impact of Aatmanirbhar Bharat differs across sectors and regions but it needed to check on various timelines about the progress of such schemes to measure the impact of it.
The study concludes that the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has made a distinguishable contribution in strengthening India’s domestic production capacity and reduced the reliability on imports. The initiative has supported the expansion of manufacturing, encouraged investment, and provided much needed assistance to MSMEs, which together form the backbone of India’s economy. However, the impact of the initiative has not been uniform across all sectors. To ensure that Aatmanirbhar Bharat leads to a sustained and higher GDP growth trajectory, consistent policy implementation, technological upgradation, skill development, and stronger export competitiveness are essential.