Prime Minister Narendra Modi today highlighted India’s growing stature on the global stage and said “when India speaks, the world listens.”
Addressing the Indian diaspora in New York, PM Modi said, “We are also a strong voice of the Global South. Today when India says something on the global stage, the world listens. Some time ago when I said that this is not the era of war, everyone understood its seriousness…”
This approach was most recently reflected through the Voices of the Global South Summit hosted by India in January 2023. The summit, themed “Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose”, brought together leaders from the global South to discuss shared challenges and opportunities. By providing a platform for these countries to unite and speak with one voice, India demonstrated its commitment to fostering cooperation and driving positive change.
He said that for India, power and strength mean – “Knowledge is for sharing, wealth is for caring, power is for protection.”
By hosting the Voices of the Global South Summit and promoting unity among developing countries, India has reaffirmed its status as a key player on the global stage. As Prime Minister Modi emphasised, when India speaks, the world listens – a testament to India’s growing influence and leadership in shaping a more equitable and prosperous world.
PM Modi said that now India does not lag behind, it creates new systems and moves forward. India has given the new concept of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to the world.
PM Modi said, “Today our partnership is growing with the whole world. Earlier India followed the policy of equidistance. Today India is following the policy of equidistance. Today India’s 5G market has become bigger than America and this has happened in just two years. Now India is working on ‘Made in India’ 6G.”
He said that India is now a land of opportunities. The Prime Minister said, “Now India does not wait for opportunities, but creates them.”
Speaking about the big changes in the last decade with respect to opportunities and lifting 25 crore people out of poverty, PM Modi said, “In the last ten years, India has created new launching pad opportunities in every sector. In just one decade, 25 crore people were lifted out of poverty. This was possible because we changed the old thinking and approach. We focused on empowering the poor. We connected more than 50 crore people to the banking system…”
PM Modi said, “In a decade, India has become the 5th largest economy from the 10th position. Now every Indian wants India to become the third largest economy soon. Today India is a land of opportunities. Now India does not wait for opportunities, but creates opportunities.”
Speaking about the demographic dividend, the PM said, “Today India is one of the youngest countries in the world. India is full of energy and dreams. Every day new records and new news are being created. Today India has won the gold medal in the Chess Olympiad (men and women). This has happened for the first time in a century. Our entire nation is proud of our chess players. We have AI driving India, and another AI – Aspirational India – is a new force driving the development of Indians.”
He also set goals for Modi 3.0, moving ahead with three times strength and power and asked people to remember the word ‘PUSHUP’. P-Progressive India, U-Invincible India, S-Spiritual India, H-India committed to humanity and P-Prosperous India
Prime Minister Modi said, “We will build a developed India by combining the five petals of PUSHP.”
Regarding the ongoing conflicts around the world, the PM said, “This year 2024 is important for the whole world. On one hand, there is conflict and tension between some countries. On the other hand, democracy is being celebrated in some countries.”
He further said that India’s priority is not to increase its presence in the world but to increase its influence.
“We are not going to burn like fire, but we are going to give light like the rays of the sun.” PM Modi said, “We do not want our dominance in the world, but rather want to increase cooperation in the prosperity of the world.”
The Prime Minister said that India and America are together in this celebration of democracy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
