Belagavi, 28 Feb

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said the solid foundation laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last ten years has now become a launching pad for the country to jump to the next level.

When Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, India was the 11th largest economy in the world and has now become the fifth, he said inaugurating a school of Karnataka Lingayat Education Society at Taluka headquarters town of Chikkodi in this district. It is "Modi ki guarantee" that India will be the third largest and the top economy in the years to come, he said.

"To become the top economy, you need to work hard. In the last 10 years, so much work has been done, so much hard work has been put in. In the last 10 years, many programmes have been launched," Jaishankar said.

He cited the Central government's 'Anna Yojana', 'Mudra Yojana' and 'Ujjwala Yojana' in this context. The number of beneficiaries of Mudra loan scheme were more than the population of Germany and those of the 'Awas Yojana' were than the population of Japan.

Stressing that the government was trying to reduce the burden of the common man, he said the biggest change that India witnessed is the digital change -- India is number one in digital consumption, and data consumption tariff in India is the cheapest. It is also a result of good governance and digital governance, he said.

Giving the credit of good governance to the Prime Minister, Jaishankar said due to Modi's trust, vision and commitment, the delivery of government has changed and improved over the last 10 years under his tenure. He also said the entire world was worried how India would battle Covid-19 considering its population. But within 18 months, we not only looked after ourselves during the pandemic in 2020 but also provided vaccines to 100 countries.

Post the pandemic, the image of India in the world is at a different level. The world now sees that India can deliver, the Minister said. "The world always considered that one day India will progress, India has the potential....But that day has come now. This foundation in the last 10 years will take us forward to the Amrit Kaal," he said.

The solid foundation of 10 years which Modi has given to the nation has now become a launching pad for the country and India is now preparing to take that jump to the next level, according to him. "We are entering the next level. It will be a world of Artificial Intelligence, world of chips, Electric Vehicles, Electric Mobility, battery...robotics will be used in health procedures....these are industries of the future. Our biggest resource is our human resource. It's our most valuable resource," he emphasised.

Citing the situation in Gaza and Ukraine, the Minister said when there is uncertainty and tension in the world, it is of utmost importance that we need a strong leadership with a clear vision to take us forward and "the image of us is such that it is Modiji's India and we will definitely answer back and so people out there are also being cautious."