Global focus on India's progress and scale of achievements: Jaishankar

Bengaluru: Make in India has moved from being an aspiration to an assertion and the resulting brand is now very different, where the focus is on India’s pace of progress and scale of achievements, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday.

Virtually addressing the 8th India Ideas Conclave 2024 in Bengaluru, Jaishankar claimed that over the past decade, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is being perceived as a big player globally, with everyone seeing something of interest in its endeavours, enhancing Brand Bharat.

“Economically, we are now perceived as much easier to do business with. The transformation underway in infrastructure is also increasingly appreciated. Whether it is the airports, metros, highways or railways, the achievements of the last decade stand out, even by global standards,” he said.

India’s adoption of technology, its 5G stack and startup culture, and the volume of digital transactions, besides Chandrayaan’s landing on the south side of the moon and vaccine production and willingness to share it across borders during the Covid-19 pandemic have evoked a sense of respect and recognition globally. Talented Indians have become sought-after by other nations, encouraging international partnerships to impart skills and
education.

“Standing up for our consumers, when it comes to fuel, food, and fertiliser security has certainly been a brand enhancement, so too, our determination to safeguard our citizens, come what may... A multi-vector approach engages the Quad and BRICS, Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran, the global north and the global south. This is the brand of Vishwa Bandhu,” he said.

Answering questions from the audience about the push for Make in India and free trade agreements (FTA), he noted that a manufacturing deficiency is a national security vulnerability.

“In the 1992-2014 period, we didn’t push manufacturing at all. In the name of an open economy, we allowed other people to get an advantageous playing field in this country. This has to stop,” he said.

Jaishankar noted that in every FTA negotiation, India is concerned about the social fabric and employment consequences as well as the national security implications. “I would never sign up for an FTA, and I know the Modi government would never sign up for an FTA, unless these very basic concerns are taken care of.” He also highlighted the government’s push for innovation in the AI and semiconductor ecosystems through training and resources. 

Relations with Israel have gotten stronger, and parallelly, so have relations with the Middle East in the past decade, he said. “Ask the diaspora what our national brand was ten years ago and ask them what it is now. There can’t be a more powerful testimony to our Brand Bharat than what you are getting out of the Middle East,” he added.