Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed the relationship between India and the US as the ‘sun in the new dawn’ which will spread light all around.
Modi was addressing the Joint Session of the US Congress on Thursday (EST) as part of his three-day state visit.
“When I was here in 2016, I had said that “our relationship is primed for a momentous future. That future is today,” Modi said. Highlighting the economic growth of the nation, he said when he visited the US as the Prime Minister, India was the tenth largest economy in the world. Now it is the fifth largest economy and will be the third largest economy soon.
“We are not only growing bigger but we are also growing faster. When India grows, the whole world grows. After all, we are one-sixth of the world’s population! In the last century, when India won its freedom, it inspired many other countries to free themselves from colonial rule. In this century, when India sets benchmarks in growth, it will inspire many other countries to do the same,” he said.
Explaining how the vision of ‘Together for everyone’s growth, with everyone’s trust and everyone’s efforts’ is translating into action, with speed and scale, he said India is focusing on infrastructure development. The government has given nearly 40 million homes to over 150 million people.
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“That is nearly six times the population of Australia!”, he said, adding that India runs a national health insurance programme that ensures free medical treatment for about 500 million people. “That is greater than the population of South America!” India is also banking to the unbanked with the world’s largest financial inclusion drive. Nearly 500 million people benefited. “This is close to the population of North America!”
Domino effect
Further, India has worked on building Digital India. “Today, there are more than eight hundred and fifty million smart phones and internet users in the country. This is more than the population of Europe! We protected our people with two point two billion doses of made in India Covid vaccines, and that too free of cost!” he said.
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Recognising the importance of India’s growth impact on US, Modi said that when defence and aerospace in India grow, industries in Washington and Arizona, and companies grow, and their research and development centres in India thrive. “When Indians fly more, a single order for aircraft creates more than a million jobs in forty-four states in America,” he said.
Further, when an American phone maker invests in India, it creates an entire ecosystem of jobs and opportunities, in both countries. When India and the US work together on semiconductors and critical minerals, it helps the world make supply chains more diverse, resilient, and reliable.
Making special note of defense tie-up, the Prime Minister said that India and the US are working together, in space, the seas, science, semi-conductors, start-ups, sustainability, tech, trade, farming, finance, art, artificial intelligence, energy, education, healthcare, and humanitarian efforts.
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Making a call for reforms in multilateral institutions, with better resources and representation. “That applies to all our global institutions of governance, especially the United Nations. When the world has changed, our institutions too must change. Or, risk getting replaced by a world of rivalries without rules. In working for a new world order based on international law, our two countries will be at the forefront as partners,” he said.