Mumbai, November 10
Developing capabilities in multiple domains hold importance in the present era and comprehensive national power of a country is the measure of that, according to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Speaking at the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Aditya Birla Scholarships Programme here in Mumbai on Sunday evening, Jaishankar has emphasized on essential prerequisite of developing capabilities at home .
"Today, it is common...to speak about comprehensive national power. We no longer measure each other just by military capabilities or political influence, but take into account technology strengths, economic resilience, human creativity and societal well-being," said the External Affairs Minister.
He added that no nation can truly develop in a unidimensional manner, and large ones in particular, like India, must possess some basic self-sufficiency.
"Otherwise, in an era of weaponized economics, we leave ourselves seriously open to vulnerabilities," he said.
For India to rise, it must develop deep technology strengths and create the capacity to research, to design and to innovate, Jaishankar added. "That will only happen when manufacturing expands and the industrial culture strikes deep roots."
India today is the fifth largest economy in the world, and certainly it will be the third by the end of the decade.
"Our exports have increased significantly in the last decade, especially in services. Investments in India have also more than doubled during this period. There is today a perceptible interest in engaging with us, reflected in the steady flow of high-profile visitors and businesses," Jaishankar told the gathering.
India's appetite to explore the world has also grown, be it in tourism, education, or for work possibilities.
"We see this not just anecdotally but in fact in the reality that our passport services are increasing year on year by 10 per cent. In all of this, our entrepreneurs have more than kept pace establishing their presence in societies and regions far away," the minister said.
Much of India's diplomacy is dedicated towards promoting exports, attracting investments, sourcing best practices, identifying technologies and expanding tourism.
"The COVID experience brought home to the world the dangers of depending on a limited geography. It was aggravated by concerns that large production dependencies and market shares can be leveraged for political purposes. As a result, the quest to build more reliable and resilient supply chains has assumed salience," the Union Minister asserted.