"Under leadership of PM Modi, India showed world...": EAM Jaishankar

Hubli (Karnataka) [India], February 28 : Coming out in wholesome praise of Prime Minister Modi's leadership and is outreach towards India's global partners in times of distress, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said New Delhi demonstrated to the world that it could not only look after itself but could also 'save the world' in times of need.
Speaking at an event at Hubli in Congress-ruled Karnataka on Wednesday, Jaishankar said at a time when the world was worried about India's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country stood up as a provider for the globe and shipped vaccines and other life-saving drugs to 100 countries.
"India, which the world was worried about, gave vaccines to 100 other countries," the EAM said at the event.
As he got up to speak, the EAM highlighted how the entire world feared that India might bear the brunt of the pandemic but that did not happen.
"When the Covid pandemic arrived, the world assumed that the country that would suffer the most would be India. The reason for this is that we have a huge population. People thought that we were not capable enough. We had fewer doctors. Leave alone the vaccines, even the masks were not manufactured here. There was a shortage of ventilators."
"But under the leadership of PM Modi, India showed the world that it could not only look after itself, but it could also save the world," he added.
Also speaking highly of India's growth story, the External Affairs Minister said, "Today, India is confident. It does not leave its citizens alone when they are stuck in a crisis in another country."
"I was in South Africa with PM Modi in September. Everyone was worried about the landing of the Chandrayaan 3... The BRICS conference was ongoing, but everyone was worried about the landing. When the landing was successful, all the 50-60 presidents and prime ministers felt that India's achievement belonged to them too... Today, India is confident. It does not leave its citizens alone when they are stuck in a crisis in another country..." Jaishankar added.
Calling India the "most digital society in the world", the EAM said, "Earlier, we brought 2G, 3G, and 4G from China. But now, the 5G has been made in our country. We have become the most digital society in the world."
"The world wants India to be successful..." he added.
Recently, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said at event the government's goal is to make India a developed nation by 2047 and that all efforts were being made in that direction.
Goyal hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relentless pursuit of twin tracks--strengthening the macroeconomic fundamentals of India to prepare the country for the future and focusing on the welfare of the poor pertaining to food, healthcare and education.
"The Union Minister said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's holistic vision to address the issues regarding welfare of the poor coupled with good governance over the last decade has helped India transform from the 11th largest to 5th largest economy in the world and is on track to become the 3rd largest GDP by 2027," read an official press release.
He said India saw it best performing decade in the last 75 years of independence, with inflation halved in the last 12 years, benefitting the economy and the interest rates also in check.
He added that the government inherited a 'broken economy' when it came to power with a clear mandate in 2014.
"We inherited a broken economy, deep in distress and a poor reputation around the world for India's growth story and its ability to play a part in geopolitics," the release quoted Goyal as saying further.