"When I look at you, I feel very confident about where we would be...": EAM says future of Bharat 'very bright'

NEW DELHI: Talking up the country's prospects under the BJP-led NDA regime, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said the 'future' of Bharat, as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "is very bright".

Speaking at an event in the national capital on Wednesday, he said not many countries have been able to "build up the democratic traditions and practices that we have".

Extending his greetings to fellow citizens on the occasion of 'National Girl Child Day' at an event at the Miranda House in Delhi on Wednesday, the External Affairs Minister said, "Let me extend to you all my greetings on National Girl Child Day. Because, as a brother as well as a father to a girl, "I know the value of the family".

Speaking at the event titled 'Future of the Bharat', EAM Jaishankar said, "The future is very bright. The future is you. So when I look at you, I feel very confident about where we would be in the years and decades to come.

Citing figures and projections of the Indian economy by global investment firm Goldman Sachs, the External Affairs Minister said, "Last year, we were an economy of 3.73 trillion dollars. By 2028, we will be an economy of 5.5 trillion dollars. And by 2075, we will be an economy of 52.5 trillion dollars. Many of you will be about the same age as me in 2075. And that Bharat of 52.5 trillion dollars is something that you will experience."

"Today we are an economy with a per capita income of less than 3000 dollars. This will make us ten times more prosperous. So this is also a way of imagining, of predicting what would be the future of Bharat," he added.

On the broad vision for 25 years of 'Amrit Kaal' as laid out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jaishankar said, "But futures are not predestined. They do not happen automatically. People, countries, and societies have to work for the future. And that work...the call for that work has been given by the Prime Minister when he envisaged the 25 years of the 'Amrit-Kaal'."

"We have set ourselves the goal of being a developed nation by 2047", he said.

On the foundations cradling the future of Bharat, the External Affairs Minister said, "One is the foundation of a democracy that directs (the future course of a country). You could ask why democracy is a big deal. We have, since independence, always been a democracy. However, we did have two years in between...in fact, I was in university at the time when we had an Emergency. There was some question mark (on whether democracy was under threat in the country). It is a testimony to the strength of our commitment that we came through it and put it behind us."

On how he perceives democracy as a former diplomat who travelled the world, Jaishankar said, "Do not take democracy as something which is a given. It is something we have to nurture. We have to grow and practise it. Because many other societies have not been able to build up democratic traditions, practices, and ethos that we have..."