Dear Students and esteemed Faculty of the University of St. Gallen, it gives me immense pleasure to deliver the Closing Address of the Asia Days Conference which has been organized by the students themselves. I am glad to note that India is one of the focus countries of Asia Days and that this Conference has given the students an opportunity to debate, discuss and understand India.
Friends, I have themed my address today as
India@75. The 75th anniversary of Independence of India will fall in 2022. On 12 March 2021, Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi, officially inaugurated the 2-year long
India@75 celebrations titled as A
zadi Amrit Mahotsav, i.e. Amrit Festival of Independence. On this auspicious occasion Prime Minister Modi noted,
“ It is written in our Vedas: ??????????????????????i.e., we should move towards immortality leaving behind sorrow, distress, tribulation and destruction. This is also the resolution of this Amrit Festival of Independence. Azadi Amrit Mahotsav means elixir of energy of independence; elixir of inspirations of the warriors of freedom struggle; elixir of new ideas and pledges; and elixir of Aatmnirbharta. Therefore, this Mahotsav is a festival of awakening of the nation; festival of fulfilling the dream of good governance; and the festival of global peace and development.”
I am happy to note that my address today at the prestigious University of St. Gallen is the first event of
India@75 celebrations organised by the Embassy of India in Switzerland.
Introduction
Friends, India is an ancient civilization and a vibrant Democracy. Its culture, outlook, and thought process, as we know it today, is a product of this long continuous stream. From the ancient through the medieval to the New India, we witness the story of a rich and flourishing land, attracting people from different parts of the world. During the course of its history, India absorbed various influences and nurtured human thought and philosophy. That influence is also visible in Switzerland in the form of Yoga and Ayurveda.
Since its independence, India has steadily progressed to become the 3rd largest economy in the world today, in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. Over the last 75 years, we have steadily lifted millions out of poverty, created massive quantum of modern infrastructure and steadily contributed to scientific research. Today, India has fast growing infrastructure, rapid urbanization and tech-savy youngsters. The size of middle class in India is expanding which in turn contributes to market demand and making India an attractive place for business and investments.
India and COVID-19 pandemic
This past one year has been unlike any other in recent history. COVID-19 pandemic changed our world and our interactions in ways which were unimaginable earlier. Unlike previous years, when Asia Days would have been a physical event with participation of a large number of students in the University campus, today, we are forced to interact virtually and limit ourselves to a digital screen. But this event today is also a testimony to our willingness to adapt and our commitment to being resilient.
India also faced unprecedented challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. We tackled the crisis with a proactive and pro-participation approach. India worked on strengthening the COVID-19 specific health infrastructure, trained its human resource to tackle the pandemic and used technology massively in testing and tracking the cases. India managed to contain the spread of the virus with one of the lowest mortality rates in the world. India’s success has global implications as 18 percent of world population lives in India.
India’s actions throughout the pandemic were guided by the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kudumabkam’, which means ‘The world is one family’. During the pandemic, despite the initial challenges of augmenting production of medical supplies, India supplied essential drugs and medical equipment to more than 150 countries in the world. Since January this year, India has launched the largest vaccination campaign in the world, with the launch of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign. In the first phase, India vaccinated health workers and front-line corona warriors. In the second phase of vaccination currently underway, India is vaccinating all those above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with co-morbidities.
India has also used its position as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines, which have been supplied across the world to a large number of Asian, African and American countries, since January 2021. Till date, 66 countries have received Made In India COVID-19 vaccines, including under the WHO – GAVI, COVAX programme. This ‘Vaccine Maitri’ or Vaccine friendship not only included supply of vaccines from India, but India also trained medical personnel and administrators to organize the vaccine drives in many developing countries. The world community has realized India’s potential as the Pharmacy of the World. In the context of the global vaccination campaign against corona virus, United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres said at a press conference, “The production capacity of India is one of the best assets the world has today”. India is indeed committed to the welfare of the entire world in this fight against corona virus.
Atma-Nirbhar Bharat
COVID-19 pandemic cut off supply chains of various essential products across the world. India facing these pandemic created supply chain restrictions, decided to turn the situation into its advantage by preparing for and increasing domestic production capacities.
India is pursuing the vision of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’, which means 'Self-Reliant India’. But, when India speaks of becoming self-reliant, it is not advocating a self-centred system. Rather, India’s vision of self reliance includes care and concern for the whole world. India’s belief to become self reliant is underwritten by a strong conviction that India has the potential to catalyze global economic resurgence after the COVID-19 crisis. India’s commitment to self reliance is rooted in the theme that a self-reliant and resilient India can be a force multiplier for the post- COVID economy; and can contribute strongly to global value chains.
Economic Reforms / Ease of Doing Business
The resilience shown by Indian economy during the pandemic is unprecedented. The increased foreign direct investment into India, which is 48% higher during April to December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, stands testimony to this economic resilience and potential. This owes to a number of fundamental reforms, which have taken place in India in the last few years. The Government of India has taken multiple initiatives to improve India’s manufacturing potential. It ushered in One Nation One Tax system in the form of Goods and Services Tax (GST), one of the lowest Corporate Tax rates, and various incentives for setting up new manufacturing. The Government has put in place a face-less regime for income tax assessment & appeal and has brought in a new regime of labour laws, balancing the welfare of workers and ease of doing business for the employers. The Government has also announced various Production-Linked Incentive schemes in specific sectors to boost domestic manufacturing. It has also put in place an empowered institutional arrangement to hand-hold foreign investors in India. Each of these measures have contributed towards improving Ease of doing Business in India. Today India stands at the 63rd rank in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business.
A strong focus of the New India is on building world class infrastructure. The US Dollar 1.5 trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) was announced in December 2019 which is the first-of-its-kind, whole-of- government exercise ever undertaken by Government of India. The NIP was launched with 6835 projects and has now expanded to 7,400 projects. Around 217 projects worth INR 1.10 lakh crores under some key infrastructure Ministries have been completed.
A pioneering multi-modal connectivity infrastructure master plan is being finalized. India has embarked on a massive infrastructure building spree of highways, railways, metros, water-ways, airports across the country. We are building millions of affordable houses for the neo-middle class. India is looking for investments not just in big cities but smaller cities and towns too. The latest annual budget presented in the Indian Parliament in February 2021, addressed each of these areas with vast outlays and road maps for implementation. The new budget also includes various measures to reduce regulatory compliance burden which will improve ease of doing business for industries.
Digital Transformation
Friends, the ease of doing everything has been expedited with the tremendous Digital transformation that has taken place in India. In January, 2021, Indian Prime Minister Modi addressed the World Economic Forum’s Davos Dialogues, where he spoke about the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution- using technology for the good of humanity’. India is witnessing an unprecedented Digital transformation. India’s digital profile has been completely transformed. India is working on all the four factors of Industry 4.0- connectivity, automation, artificial intelligence or machine learning and real-time data. India is among the countries where mobile data charges are the cheapest in the world. Mobile connectivity and smart phones have reached far and wide. India’s automation design expert pool is vast and the country has made a mark in the field of AI and machine learning. Growing digital infrastructure has made digital solutions part of everyday life in India. Today 1.3 billion Indians have a universal ID- Aadhar which is connected to their bank account and mobile phone. India could transfer, 1.8 trillion Indian rupees worth of assistance, through direct benefit transfer to the accounts of 760 million Indians during the pandemic. Digital Infrastructure has made public service delivery efficient and transparent.
This Digital transformation is also reflected in the number and success of technology Start-Ups in India. India has one of the largest Start-Up ecosystems in the world. Young entrepreneurs like you, brim with new ideas, will be excited to experience the expanding digital economy in India. The increasing middle class and growing purchasing power in the economy provides unprecedented opportunities in this market. I urge the upcoming entrepreneurs among you to confidently look at India. You will need tenacity and open-mindedness to see beyond the glaring differences between Indian and Swiss Business ecosystems, and uncover the value and opportunities in the market.
Frugal Innovation
One of the aspect of opportunities in the Indian market lies in being frugally innovative. For Businesses collaborating with India, it is important to remember that India is a price sensitive market. Indians are famous for their frugal innovations- simple problem solving techniques, which may not be ideal solutions, but manage to get the matter done at the lowest possible price. Many commentators have a tendency to associate competitive prices directly with a lack of quality or lack of compliance with environmental standards. But in India this is seldom the case. Frugal innovation is a technique of problem solving which is sensitive to price restrictions. But Indian industries and start-ups are proving that this can be achieved in compliance with quality and environmental standards. It is these parameters that make Indian market a challenging and interesting one.
Sustainability
Let me now turn to the traditional Indian value of sustainability. In Indian culture, nature and divinity are closely linked. There is inherent respect for nature. Mahatma Gandhi was a very strong proponent of Sustainable living, epitomizing the concepts of zero wastage and simple living. He had said, “The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.”I would also mention another quote of Mahatma Gandhi which is apt for business students. It is as follows:
“Supposing I have come by a fair amount of wealth – either by way of legacy, or by means of trade and industry – I must know that all that wealth does not belong to me; what belongs to me is the right to an honorable livelihood, no better than that enjoyed by millions of others. The rest of my wealth belongs to the community and must be used for the welfare of the community.”
It is thus a natural corollary that environmental considerations and sustainability goals guide all of India’s current developmental strategies. India played a prominent role in the formulation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and much of India’s National Development Agenda is mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Prime Minister Modi in his speech at World Sustainable Development Summit last month, said that India is on track to exceed its commitments and targets under the Paris Agreement. India has taken concrete action in many areas. Share of non-fossil sources in India's installed capacity of electricity has grown to 38 percent now. There are efforts to eliminate single-use plastics; Our forest cover is expanding; The lion and tiger population is increasing; We aim to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; And, we are encouraging a circular economy. India will meet its goal of 175 Giga Watts of renewable energy well before the target of 2022. Now, India is all set to achieve 450 Giga Watts of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. A scheme called PM KUSUM has recently been launched to promote an equitable and decentralized model of solar energy generation. It aims to have over 30 Giga watts of solar capacity developed in the agriculture sector by 2022.
India is playing a global leadership role in harnessing the potential of solar energy and achieve climate resilience. India and France jointly launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) which has 88 signatory countries at present. With plans to mobilize billions of dollars, train thousands of stake-holders, and promote research and development in renewable energy, the International Solar Alliance will contribute to reducing carbon foot-print across the globe. Another example of India’s global leadership is the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). 18 countries and 4 international organizations have already joined the Coalition. CDRI has started work on increasing resilience of critical infrastructure. Infra damage during natural disasters is a subject that has not got the attention it deserves.
India- Switzerland Economic Relations
Friends, India and Switzerland share a long history of warm and cordial relations. Our bilateral relations are referred to as A Long Standing Dynamic Partnership. A Treaty of Friendship was signed between India and Switzerland in 1948. It was one of the first friendship treaties signed by independent India.
Today, India-Switzerland bilateral engagement is maintained at the highest level. The Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind undertook a State Visit to Switzerland in September 2019. High-level delegations from India regularly participate at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. A rich interaction is taking place between Indian and Swiss business ecosystems. Our R&D ecosystems and Start Up ecosystems are also having synergistic interactions.
Switzerland is India’s 11th largest trading partner and the 12th largest investor into India. There is tremendous potential to enhance our bilateral trade as well as bilateral investments. In order to further strengthen our bilateral trade and investment relations, this Embassy is executing the Momentum In India: Swiss SMEs Programme. The third year of this programme referred to as MISSP 3.0 was launched on 1 March 2021. In its second year, the programme onboarded 94 Swiss companies.
Friends, I arrived in Switzerland as the Indian Ambassador to this beautiful country, about seven months back. In my time in Switzerland, I had the opportunity to see the beautiful snow-covered mountains, rolling green hills and lakes. But I have come to realize that, what makes Switzerland stand apart is its capacity to innovate and to plan and execute with precision. Switzerland has carved out for itself a brand identity of quality and reliability. I am happy that each one of you would have imbibed these qualities and are eager to make your mark across the world.
Conclusion
Despite the uncertainties and apprehensions brought about by COVID crisis across the world, I see exciting opportunities awaiting those venturing into India. As Ambassador of India, the message I bring today, from the 1.3 billion Indians is one of hope and resilience. The determination and spirit of industry of this 1.3 billion people is getting the Indian economy back on its feet despite unprecedented sufferings during the pandemic. India believes that its revival can be an engine for global recovery. While sharing its pharmaceutical, vaccine and production capacity with the world, India is but only embodying its age old philosophy of World being one family – Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam.
In the beginning of the talk, I spoke about India’s historical roots and its philosophical ethos. India's history is not only one of empires, monuments and grandeur, but of scholarship, philosophy, sciences, mathematics, astronomy etc. Its tradition of deep learning and scholarship emphasizes the importance given to the supremacy of the idea. You, as young minds should appreciate how ideas are fundamental in shaping the world. I wish you the audaciousness to pursue your idea and nurture it to build ever stronger bridges between India and Switzerland.
I thank you for inviting me to this conference and I wish Asia Days and each one of you, the very best. I also look forward to further collaboration between the Embassy and the University of St. Gallen as part of
India@75 celebrations.
Thank you.
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