2018 was a year when both, good and bad happened. There were also instances of individuals stepping up and breaking barriers, for the greater good. It was indeed a year when freedom was truly established, when feminism and equality emerged and when a nation looked to prosper. MetroSaga brings to you a few instances which brought forth hope for a better country.
Plastic Ban
In a bid to go green, many states had banned plastic, imposing a hefty fine if you were ever caught using plastic bags below the minimum specifications. This has definitely helped in the waste management in India, a topic which is often ignored, but really needs to be talked about. What’s more, there are roads being made of the enormous amount of plastic waste available, and inspired minds behind this genius idea are promoting the same!
Ronaldo, Messi, Chhetri!
India won the Intercontinental Cup against Kenya, and the captain Sunil Chhetri became the third highest international goalscorer, with his contribution towards the 3-0 win. He also implored the citizens of India in a tweet which went viral and went on to skyrocket the enthusiasm for football during the Indian Super League.
Indian Engineer won an Oscar!
In March 2018, Vikas Sathaye was a member of the team Shotover K1, which won an Academy Award for Science and Technology. His team had worked on several breathtaking sequences in movies such as Dunkirk and Guardians of the Galaxy, among many others.
Fastest Growing Economy
With a growth rate of 7.3 percent, India has been the fastest growing economy in the fiscal year 2018/19, thanks to the policies such as the GST, which accounts for about 15 percent of the growth.
First Ever all female SWAT team
In August 2018, India got its first all-women commando team. The 36 women chosen were put through 15 months of rigorous training and were trained in Krav Maga, weapon handling and counter-terrorism.
Celebrating true freedom
India’s Supreme Court on September 6, 2018, struck down a colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights. Delivering his decision, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had said, “The LGBTQ community has the same fundamental rights as citizens. The identity of a person is very important and we have to vanquish prejudice, embrace inclusion and ensure equal rights.”
Dedicating lives to a noble cause
Two of the six winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, famously dubbed the Nobel Prize of Asia, were Indian. Bharat Vaswani, a psychiatrist, was given this prestigious award for his work towards mentally-ill street people, while Sonam Wangchuk, the inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s character in 3 Idiots, was awarded for using science to help improve the lives of the youth of Ladakh.
One More Light
In April, India enacted a new mental health law that provides for mental health care and services for everyone and decriminalizes suicide. However, disability rights groups say much remains to be done to ensure that the law is properly enforced.
Good Samaritans
As Kerala reeled under its worst flood in nearly a century, Sikh volunteers from the Khalsa Aid International, the UK based philanthropist group, have reached the state to help the flood victims. Their group’s volunteers from the Indian wing reached Kochi and set up a Langar to feed food for 2000 people.
Duty towards the Nation, unlike any other
The IAS officer Deleep Singh was spotted wading through waist-deep water in Manipur, leading rescue operations in the badly affected area of Imphal. A photograph of him in a blue shirt, whilst rescuing flood victims, went viral and won the hearts of millions in the country.
It is always up to us, the building blocks of the nation, to bring about a difference. Let us make 2019 a better year, not only for us but for the ones around us.
