The external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar, stated on Saturday that while colonialism made India one of the poorest countries in the 20th century, it now proudly ranks as the world's fifth-largest economy.
"In the 18th century, India accounted for a quarter of the global GDP. By the middle of the 20th, colonialism ensured that we were one of the poorest nations in the world. That was our state when we became the founding member of the United Nations," the minister said.
Jaishankar stated that India currently sees itself as a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of its independence, in his speech at the special "India@75" Showcasing India-UN Partnership in Action event in New York.
India overtook the United Kingdom to take over as the fifth-largest economy in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which made the announcement on September 2. Based on quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) figures in current dollars for the time period ending December 2021, the most recent ranking adjustment was made. According to IMF figures, India's lead over the UK grew in the three months ended in March.
The development of India's digital public infrastructure was also discussed by Jaishankar, who stated that it is intended to make sure "no one is left behind." According to Jaishankar, India, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary of independence, is still growing as the "strongest, most enthusiastic, and undoubtedly the most argumentative democracy". and is currently the fifth-largest economy in the world.
“In recent days digital technology has successfully advanced our food safety net to 800 million Indians. More than USD 300 billion of benefits have been distributed digitally, 400 million people get food regularly,” he said.
"India today envisions itself as a developed country by 2047, at the 100 years of our independence. We dream of digitising our most remote villages and landing on the moon," he said and smiled saying "perhaps digitising" the moon as well.
Foreign minister of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid, UNDP administrator Achim Steiner, UN deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed, and Csaba Korosi, the president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, were among the luminaries that attended the event. India, according to Jaishankar, sees development as a public good and believes that open sourcing is the best course of action.