Goodbye, 2018: Let’s look back on a year full of achievements!
Goodbye, 2018: Let’s look back on a year full of achievements!
Another year done and dusted! We’re officially at the end of 2018 – a year that has given us a lot of reasons to cheer.
2018 reminded us that no matter how hard life gets, there is always joy and goodness to be found all around. To celebrate the year and all it had to offer, we’ve curated a list of achievements that made us feel proud as citizens of India.
- The Supreme Court of India decriminalised Section 377 of the IPC on September 6, 2018, allowing homosexuals to live as equal citizens in India without being identified as criminals. Nobody can harass them on the basis of their sexual orientation anymore.
- In a country where women in sports are often underappreciated, the Indian women’s hockey team created history and broke stereotypes by making it to the finals of the Asian Games after 20 years of hard work and diligence.
- In August 2018, India’s first all-female commando team was formally inducted into Delhi Police by Union Minister Rajnath Singh. The 36 women in the team went through 15 months of rigorous training where they learnt counter terrorism and Krav Maga. These women are an inspiration for us all.
- The world’s first-ever thermal battery plant was unveiled in Andhra Pradesh in the month of August. Manufactured by Bharat Energy Storage Technology Private Limited, the plant uses energy created by temperature difference and can be used effectively in remote areas, like hills or islands.
- Vikas Sathaye, a Pune-born engineer, was a part of the team that won an Oscar for Science and Technology in March. His team’s innovation (Shotover K1) has been recognised as an important breakthrough in filming mid-air sequences and was used in movies such as Dunkirk and Guardians of the Galaxy.
- Dr. Aneel Kashi Murarka’s Ample Mission organised the Bharat Prerna Awards 2018 in Mumbai, recognizing the differently-abled. It was an evening dedicated to those who have achieved the impossible despite their impairment.
- Two out of the six winners of the Nobel Prize of Asia 2018 were Indian. Bharat Vaswani was awarded for his work towards mentally-ill street people, and Sonam Wangchuk was awarded for using science to improve the lives of the youth of Ladakh.
- In January, our blind cricket team became world champions by beating Pakistan in the finals of the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup – thus retaining their 2014 title.
- Delhi witnessed a modern-day ‘Chipko Movement’ where citizens were seen urging the government to find an alternative to cutting trees.
- Anshdeep Singh Bhatia was inducted into the security team of US President Donald Trump. He became the first turbaned Sikh to be appointed to this post.
As we turn the page and move towards a new beginning, here’s hoping 2019 brings greater achievements and sweeter moments.