An emerging India, bubbling with self-confidence and new energy has become the world’s fifth-largest economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.5 trillion dollars and has become an unstoppable force for change in the world, senior diplomat and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr Deepak Vohra said.
“India today is the most preferred destination for investment and it’s for the young generation to seize the moment to write their future and determine their destiny,” Dr Vohra, who advises the Prime Minister on two African countries and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, said while speaking at a motivational session for students at the SOA Deemed-to-be University in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, January 12.
India has traversed a long distance from the days when it encountered brain drain, agricultural collapse and dwindling foreign exchange reserve to become the second largest producer of food today while its capacity to build, innovate and use technology has been globally acknowledged, he said.
“What we need is faith and confidence to go forward. Cynicism does not empower, it paralyses,” he told the packed auditorium.
The lecture was jointly organised by SOA and the Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar Flamingo to mark Swami Vivekananda’s birthday. SOA’s Pro-Chancellor Prof (Dr) Amit Banerjee; Vice-Chancellor Prof Bijay Kumar Sahoo; Dean (Students’ Welfare) Prof Jyoti Ranjan Das; Director, University Outreach Program Prof Nachieketa K Sharma and President of Bhubaneswar Rotary Club Flamingo Dr Smita Sinha were present.
India was currently on a high witnessing its craziest infrastructure binge as airports, ports, roads, railway lines and hotels were under construction. “Eighty airports are being built in the country while one kilometre of highway is being added every 15 minutes,” he said while quoting French poet Victor Hugo who said, “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”
Swami Vivekananda, Dr Vohra recalled, had said 125 years ago that future India would be greater than ancient India which was being awakened.
Deloitte, he said, had conducted an attitudinal study of the millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1996) and found that the Indians were the most optimistic. Goldman Sachs Group, the leading global financial institution, has described India’s story as the world’s most compelling.
“Fifteen per cent of the world’s population which ruled the rest 85 per cent for 200 years is now facing disruption, depression and loneliness while India was bubbling with self-confidence and new energy,” he said.
India’s priority today is healthcare, climate stability, recovery and development through open seas and new technology, Dr Vohra said adding, “We are leading the fight against climate change.”
Col Debabrata Kar, Secretary of Bhubaneswar Rotary Club Flamingo, introduced the speaker while Deba Prasad Dash, Director, Corporate Communication, proposed the vote of thanks.
