Global conversation has shifted towards India: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar

PTI, Jan 6, 2024, 3:42 PM IST

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the global conversation has shifted towards India, with many talking about the changes that have taken place in the country over the past decade.

While addressing the Viksit Sankalp Bharat Yatra here, Jaishankar said he told foreigners that what has changed in the country during the period is the vision. ”Because, as foreign minister, I go around the world. The rest of the world is actually today talking about us. They are asking today how it is that you are able to do. ”Because it was the same India 10, 20 or 30 years ago. What has changed in India? And I tell them that what has changed in India is the vision,” he said.

Noting that people of the country now have Aadhaar and bank accounts, he said the right use of technology has helped the country make remarkable achievements in various fields.

”We have aadhaar….because we have bank accounts. By having bank accounts we have actually changed not only governance, but also society. By connecting it to the phone, we have ensured direct benefits. So we have actually used technology,” the external affairs minister said.

In the last 10 years, Jaishankar said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done ”tremendous work” to change India and the lives of people. If the work is to be continued, we have to create ‘Viksit Bharat,’ he added. Many problems that Indians encounter like health, water, electricity, house, education and so on, are the same in many other countries, including the developed world as well.

”They are not only India’s problems…they are everybody’s problems,” Jaishankar said, adding that it is even a problem in the developed world. Jaishankar said he was finishing 46 years in the government. ”But, the last 10 years for me, five years as a minister and five years before that, have been actually the most satisfying years, for me. Because, I have seen a complete change in how the government performs,” he said. Under the Modi government, the bureaucracy is more sensitive and bankers are more friendly towards the customers. Union Minister V Muraleedharan was also present during the programme. Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra is being undertaken across the country with an aim to attain saturation of flagship schemes of the government by ensuring that the benefits of these schemes reach all targeted beneficiaries in a time-bound manner.