Tech-powered aspirations for Amrit Kaal

Three recent announcements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have stirred public debate on what kind of decadal goals must Bharat aspire for.

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The first announcement came in Mumbai on October 15 during his keynote address at the 141st session of the International Olympic Committee. In his speech, PM Modi declared the nation's aspiration to host the 2036 Olympics apart from plans to host the Youth Olympics in the run-up to the same. The next two announcements came a few days later during a review with Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) of Gaganyaan, India's first manned mission into outer space. During the review, PM Modi set a target to Isro of launching "Bharatiya Antariksha Station" (Indian Space Station) by 2035 with more ambitious plans for a manned moon mission by 2040.

With the announcements filling up the decadal calendar in the run-up to 2047 when independent India turns 100, there has been a predictable debate on the costs and benefits of such aspirational goals and on whether the country should be prioritising them over more mundane developmental matters.