IF Bureau
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a picture of assurance and confidence as he addressed the World Economic Forum’s Davos Dialogue via videoconferencing yesterday evening.
Recalling how experts across the world had predicted soon after the coronavirus outbreak that India would be completely overwhelmed by a massive wave of Covid-19 cases, Prime Minister Modi proudly announced that his country instead managed to not only tackle the pandemic successfully by implementing proactive measures, but also helped around 150 other countries do so by sending them Covid vaccines and essential medicines and helping them build essential infrastructure to fight the deadly virus.
He also reminded all that India had, right from the beginning, fulfilled its responsibility as a member of the international community by transporting more than 100,000 people to their countries at a particularly difficult time when many airspaces around the world had been closed.
Reasserting his government’s commitment towards making the nation self-reliant in all aspects, the Prime Minister hailed the two made-in-India vaccines with which more than 2.3 million healthcare workers have been inoculated since the start of the mass immunisation campaign on January 16 and 300 million elderly people and others with comorbidities will be vaccinated over the coming months. He revealed that more such indigenously developed vaccines are on the way to help India as well as the rest of the world fight the Covid-19 pandemic
Regarding the all-important self-reliance goals for the Indian economy, Modi stated that his government invested heavily in infrastructure and ensured continuance of economic activities generate enough employment across the country even in the thick of the pandemic.
The Prime Minister said his government was doing everything – from boosting the manufacturing sector through supportive policies and adequate investment, to implementing various reforms to enhance ease of business in the nation and boost the competitiveness of Indian companies, to increasing investment in cutting-edge technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, to successfully setting up a comprehensive UPI network nationwide – to make a success of its ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission.
He cited the 13% increase in foreign direct investment that India saw over the past year as a testament to his government’s commitment to the cause.
Proudly noting that India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic has become a mass movement that is contributing to the rapid decline in Covid-19 cases, Prime Minister Modi said on the occasion that India – powered now by improved infrastructure and connectivity – can contribute significantly towards resolving global supply chain challenges.
When the Prime Minister told the forum that India’s success will benefit the whole world, his words rang reassuringly true.
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