Reliance Jio: India’s sole 4G-only mobile network operator, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries. With an initial investment of ₹2 lakh crore, the RJio network covers all 22 telecom circles in India. The services were first beta-launched to Jio’s partners and employees on December 27, 2015, on the eve of the 83rd birth anniversary of the late Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Industries. Services were launched commercially on September 5, 2016. Within one year India has leapfrogged from 155th rank in mobile broadband penetration to becoming the world’s largest mobile data consuming nation. Today, Jio customers alone use 125 crore GB of data every month. Jio’s entry has seen the price of data fall from ₹4,000-8,000 per GB to ₹10-20. Reliance Jio posted a profit within 15 months of commencing commercial operations. ▲
Nandan Nilekani: A co-founder of IT services giant Infosys, he is among the few Indians who have successfully become technocrats. After being a part of Infosys, which was instrumental in paving the way for building Brand India in outsourcing, Nilekani left in July 2009 to serve as chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, a Cabinet-rank position that he took up at the invitation of then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. When it started out, Aadhaar was to be used primarily as the basis for efficient delivery of welfare services. The identification method will be biometric (with recent virtual ID) and the drive to create this government database of the entire population of India has been called “the biggest social project on the planet”. In 2016, the Aadhaar Act was passed, which gave it legislative backing, in an effort to provide efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India.
Photo: Nandan Nilekani
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The GST Council: The power to take all decisions relating to the Goods and Services Tax, India’s biggest indirect tax reform, rests with this federal body. Set up after Cabinet approval in September 2016, it is chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, with ministers from each State and Union Territory as members. It acts as an alternative decision-making authority to Parliament and State legislatures and marks a
new era of cooperation and coordination between the Centre and States. All decisions till date by the GST Council have been taken by consensus without any voting being required. It is fast in its decision-making and meets as and when required, even through video-conferencing, to look into issues that arise in the implementation of GST. The Council has set up various committees and expert groups to look at all issues in detail, be it for refunds to exporters or returns, and to ensure that implementation of GST happens without too many issues.
Photo: GST Council
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ISRO: India’s space agency, it was set up with the goal of harnessing space technology for national development. Over the decades, it has done more than achieve this goal: ISRO has carried out over 95 spacecraft missions, 65 launches and has put over 250 foreign satellites, belonging to over 30 countries, into orbit. It has largely relied on the PSLV for small satellite launches but, in recent years, has also employed indigenously developed cryogenic technology to deploy heavier satellites in space. And it has achieved all of this at a fraction of the cost incurred by foreign space agencies, thanks to its vast array of low-cost satellites. India has been able to up its abilities when it comes to communication, navigation and broadcasting infrastructure. Its technology is helping the country prepare for and cope with the aftermath of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and cyclones. It is also developing technologies such as re-usable launch vehicles and scramjet engines (it uses oxygen in the air as fuel thus reducing the cost and weight of the launch vehicle). ISRO is now transferring to Indian industry the knowledge resulting from the years of its path-breaking work. ▲
Unified Payments Interface (UPI): Today, if people can make payments or transfer money at a click of a button, it is because of UPI. The interface is at the forefront of the government’s effort to expand the formal economy by reducing cash transactions.