External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that in the 20th century, colonialism made India one of the poorest nations, it stood proudly as the 5th largest economy in the world at the time. current.
Speaking in New York at a special event “[email protected] ‘Showcasing India-UN Partnership in Action’ on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York, Jaishankar said that India sees itself today as a developed country by 2047, the 100th year of its independence.
“In the 18th century, India accounted for a quarter of the world’s GDP. In the mid-20th, colonialism made us one of the poorest nations in the world. This was our state when we became the founding member of the United Nations,” the minister said.
Jaishankar said that in the 75th year of its independence, India today stands before the UN “proudly as the fifth largest economy in the world” and continues to rise as a “democracy the strongest, the most enthusiastic and certainly the most argumentative”.
On September 2, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that India had overtaken the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth largest economy. The latest ranking change is based on quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) figures in current dollars for the period ending December 2021. India increased its lead over the UK in the quarter ending March , according to IMF data.
Jaishankar also spoke about the progress of digital public infrastructure in India and said it is designed to ensure that “no one is left behind”.
“In recent days, digital technology has succeeded in expanding our food safety net to 800 million Indians. Over $300 billion in benefits have been distributed digitally, 400 million people receive food on a regular basis,” said he declared.
“Today’s India projects itself as a developed country by 2047, on the occasion of 100 years of our independence. We dream of digitizing our remotest villages and landing on the moon,” said he said with a smile saying “maybe also scan” the moon.
India is determined to strengthen its partnership with the United Nations to ensure a better future for the planet, he said. “We have complete confidence in the principles of the UN and its charter. The world, in our view, is one family today,” Jasihankar said.
“The conflict in Ukraine has made food and fuel inflation one of the greatest challenges of our time. India has responded by providing food grains, including in the form of subsidies in recent years, to Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Yemen and several other countries,” he said.
The event was attended by UN dignitaries including President of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Korosi, UN Under-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.
Jaishankar said India believes that development is a public good and open procurement is the best way forward.
(With ANI, PTI inputs)
