External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday affirmed that India in today’s day and age is not only seen across the globe as friendly but also as a “firm” and “fiery” nation that cares for its people and fends for them in crisis situations while speaking on the topic “Viksit Bharat @2047-The Voice of the Youth” at an event at Delhi University’s Hansraj college.
The Minister was referring to the rescue operations run by India to bring back its citizens from war-torn countries such as Ukraine. He said that the world is closely watching India as it is moving away from the shackles of the past and making strides to become the world’s third largest economy.
“Right now, we are a little less than a four-trillion dollar economy. Soon we will become the third largest economy when we reach five trillion dollars. By the time we reach ‘Amrit Kaal’, I am confident we will build a 30-trillion dollar economy,” he asserted, adding that the country
has made an impressive growth in the last couple of years and this has been acknowledged and recognised by world leaders
“Today we are respected because of our economic performance. India’s talent is present in all sectors of the world,” Jaishankar said. He added that the world is watching India to see how it will grow further. Asserting that “Viksit Bharat” is not a mere slogan to motivate the people, he said that it is the foundation built in the last 10 years upon which the future of India’s next 25 years will be built.
“The next 25 years of the ‘Amrit Kaal’ are your future. It is the journey towards ‘Viksit Bharat’, and it is you who will make this journey possible,” he said while addressing the college students.
The external affairs minister said that he sees these 25 years as “a period of opportunity and new challenge”.
“This change is of the kind that we have never seen before,” Jaishankar said while highlighting the developments that have taken place in the economy and the technology sector, and in India’s position in the global forum.
Referring to India’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he termed as “once in a century challenge”, Jaishankar said India outshined the world’s expectations. “When the Covid outbreak happened and world leaders met to find a way forward, they thought India would not be able to handle the situation. They had good reasons to be worried about. But the same country ended up supplying about 100 counties with vaccines,” he said.
He lauded the “Digital India” initiative and said that the country was among the few which provided digital vaccination certificates. The former diplomat also said that India is growing as a digital economy with cashless transactions of 12 billion per month, higher than America where four billion such transactions take place in a year.
