Text of the Vice-President’s Address to Industry Leaders and Entrepreneurs in Bengaluru (Excerpts)
Text of the Vice-President’s Address to Industry Leaders and Entrepreneurs in Bengaluru (Excerpts)
सभी को मेरा नमस्कार,
This is indeed a very important convergence of builders and businessmen from Bengaluru. Bengaluru in the country is one of the top three in terms of demographic situation, economic progress Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru. At the outset, I would like to express my sense of condolence for the unfortunate event, condolence to the family of the bereaved, and I wish the injured a speedy recovery.
Distinguished audience, the nation suffered a major agony at Pahalgam. There was brutality, barbarity, and there was killing that was targeted. Might of Bharat was challenged, our civilisation was strained but this is an occasion for us to salute our armed forces. They struck decisively, they struck to the entire global acclaim. The Operation Sindoor attained its object with precision, calibrated and targeted destruction.
Muridke and Bahawalpur bear testimony to the might of our armed forces. The world does not require any proof. For the simple reason, the coffins were taken to Kabristan, accompanied by military officials of that country. Politicians of that country and terrorists.
Bharat, home to one-sixth of humanity, has sent a categorical message to the entire world. Bharat will no longer tolerate terrorism and that is why the potency of our Brahmos, manufactured in Bharat, was demonstrated by the intended devastation at Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters. I have no words to express my gratitude along with all of you for the valour of our armed forces but on this occasion, being amongst people, I seek to share my thoughts.
Be it economy or national security, you people have to play a great role. The role is critical because days of conventional war are gone. War has to be fought on technological prowess. When it comes to defining India’s technological power, technological prowess, we have to remember Bengaluru. Its talent, its contribution, Bengaluru has become the envy of the world. It is a place where our young minds have done wonders.
Institutions and corporates of global eminence have emanated from this place. I would therefore urge that this crucible of innovation that has catalysed big changes in the past has a greater challenge now because we are living in a different era now. Disruptive technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Blockchain and the kind are the new norm. These are challenges that can be converted into opportunities. Otherwise these challenges will not be wholesome for our economy.
Therefore optimal efforts have to be made to ensure our resources, human resources, are generalised to bring about big change in technology harnessing. And that is a challenge to the corporates, business, trade and industry that we must engage in research of the highest order. It is our research capacity that will define how powerful Bharat will be in the world. Our technological penetration, our technological innovation will define how secure we are.
Peace is fundamental to growth of business, harmony for the people. Peace is never bargained, peace comes from a position of strength. It comes from a position of power. Greatest peace is secured when we are ever prepared for war. There was a time when industry did not have much role to play beyond manufacturing armoury, lethal arsenals but now industry has to contribute totally in a different groove and that groove is technology. And in this groove we have to lead the world by research because research alone is its final strength in long term. If we take pride in sending a global message by getting deep into international border, it was nothing but technology.
It was Brahmos made in Uttar Pradesh. It was Akash that gave us a cover but all these are created by technology and therefore I am at the right place because Bengaluru is a place where talent thrives, where talent blossoms, where industry takes wind and winks to the knowledge of the entire global community. Therefore the most daunting challenge, the solution lies in Bengaluru.
Last ten years, distinguished audience, India has seen extraordinary development. Exponential economic upsurge, phenomenal infrastructure growth, deep digital technology penetration up to the village. We have been the fastest growing economy in the world amongst large economies during this period. We have traversed from position 11 to get into single digit, to get a slot number 5, to get a slot number 4. And now we are aiming very shortly to be the third largest global economy in the world. But to politicians we have senior amongst us, and to industry I wish to pose a question to you.
Bharat is no longer a country with potential. Bharat is on the rise as never before. The rise is incremental, the rise is unstoppable but we have to do more and I’ll tell you why. Viksit Bharat is no longer our dream. It is our object. For sure we’ll attain that object. But to achieve that object, we will have to take quantum leap and the quantum leap has to be taken by increasing manifold per capita income. Size of the economy is fine, but we have to see our economy rise status by juxtapositioning our demographic size, we are 1.4 billion people. Therefore, on empirical estimate, there will have to be 8-fold increase in the per capita income.
Now in this growth engine, the people before me, with whom I’m sharing my thoughts, are the most vital stakeholders. The engine of growth can fire on all cylinders, given your contribution but one thing is, people in industry, unlike people in politics, people in industry are satisfied by balance sheets. People in politics are not. They keep on contributing to rise higher and therefore, emergence of green field projects in the country is not at the pace at which it should be taking. I appeal to you, please think.
Converge in clusters to have green field projects, to increase capacity of the same project is fine but if you have green field project, there will be equitable distribution of employment, opportunities, and growth potential. The second aspect is, I come from a farming community. The farm sector plays a critical role in the growth trajectory of the nation. But at the moment, the contribution of the farm sector is limited to producing agro products and marketing it. They are not part of the marketing mechanism. The farm sector is not part of marketing chain. Industry is primarily based on agro-produce. Now industry will have to brainstorm, scratch their brains, to bring about greater synergy between the farm and the industry.
The farmer will have to be handheld. There will have to be entrepreneurs from farm sector. I call them agripreneurs but they cannot be there on their own. Food processing is one fundamental factor. Number of industries. Value additions can take place. The technology will determine that if there is production in abundance, the farmer obviously loses. Because the prices go down. These are driven by the market. How do we sustain the price? We sustain by adding value to the abundant production at the farmland or close by.
The spectacle of tomatoes being put on the road is not good for our national mindset. We must evolve a mechanism where if there is abundance, there can be mobile industrial units to convert into raw material and send it to the concerned industrial sector. So time has come for the corporates to share their profits with the farm sector.
Remember, your investment, be it in research or in farmland, will be an investment for your gain. It will make up for emergence of sustainable economy. I also urge corporates, business, trade and commerce that we need to subscribe to a concept of economic nationalism. When I was a member of Parliament and a Minister, and that was about three and a half decades ago, our precious gold had to be air-shipped to Switzerland to be placed to two banks because our foreign exchange reserve was around one billion US dollars.
Now it is more than 700 billion US dollars but just imagine if we stopped importing items that are made in this country, it would not be 700 billion US dollars. It will be more than 800 billion US dollars. Because we import from kites, candles, diyas, furniture, curtains, garments and we do three things immediately that are detrimental to our economy. One, we snatch work from our own people. Two, we blunt entrepreneurship and three, we create a hole in our foreign exchange.
Now how to do it? There are two ways. One, people can do it but there is an easier way because imports are by corporates, trade, industry and business. You need to decide. This is not for the government to decide because we have a global regulatory regime. But people can decide. Mahatma Gandhi is remembered for giving a cutting edge to our freedom movement because he called upon people to believe in Swadeshi. Our present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has given it a new dimension ‘Be vocal for local.’
I beseech you, please converge all associations. Take a view on it. The nation will be ever grateful. And when we import from countries that in times of crisis turn out to be inimical to our interests, they threaten our security collaterally. Why should we not show patriotism! I therefore come to another aspect. Political parties in the country will have to bring down the political temperature. The dialogue between political parties cannot be of confrontation. The dialogue has to be soothing. Democracy is defined, friends, by dialogue and discourse.
वेदांत का सिद्धांत है, प्रजातांत्रिक मूल्यों का बखान, बिना अभिव्यक्ति की आज़ादी और वाद-विवाद के बिना नहीं हो सकता। जिसको हम ‘अनंतवाद’ कहते हैं, उसका क्या मतलब है? आपको अभिव्यक्ति का अधिकार है। यदि अगर कोई आपके अभिव्यक्ति के अधिकार पर कुठाराघात करता है, कुंठित करता है या regulate करता है, तो प्रजातंत्र के अंदर कमी आती है। पर अभिव्यक्ति का आधार इतना बढ़ जाए कि दूसरे की बात ही नहीं सुनी जाए, और अभिव्यक्ति करने वाला यह समझ जाए कि जो मैंने कह दिया, वह अंतिम वाक्य है। मतलब वाद-विवाद को समाप्त कर दिया गया।
My own experience in life is that while you must be proud of your point of view, but never forget that there is always the other point of view. And the other point of view, more often than not, is the correct point of view. Because democracy has no place for ego or arrogance. But if the discourse is polluted, the political temperature goes high. That is not good for the nation.
I therefore appeal to all political parties. Issues of national security, issues connected with nationalism, issues connected with development, must be viewed from a national prism, not a partisan prism. I do not doubt for the least the political sagacity of people in political terrain. And they are available in all political parties. India is a thriving federal society where there has to be a sync between the centre and the state. Therefore, there has to be dialogue amongst political leaders, political parties. Absence of that dialogue will not be good for our national mindset.
Let me invite your attention with respect to two other disturbing features. We challenge public order in the country. Public order is a challenge to democracy. How can we have a mindset where people take to the streets to challenge public order! That is not good. Public disorder was the order of the day in Uttar Pradesh and now public order is the order of the day there. And secondly, imagine public property being destroyed, looted, set to arson, private property. These people must be named and shamed. The system must move very fast. We cannot suffer these people whose mindset is not nationalistic. We therefore have to develop a temper.
The Honourable Governor was telling me that whenever an Indian goes abroad, he epitomises discipline, decorum, belief in law of that country. Be it on road or otherwise. The moment he lands in this country, things go for a tangent. Therefore, we have to start with education. There can be no better place than Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister. There can be no better place than Bengaluru to reflect on educational institutions of eminence. And we must start from our homes.
हमें बच्चे को सिखाना पड़ेगा बड़ों का आदर करो, गुरुजन का आदर करो, पड़ोसी का आदर करो, समाज का आदर करो। बच्चों को सिखाना पड़ेगा पर्यावरण का ध्यान दो, बच्चों को सिखाना पड़ेगा स्वदेशी ग्रहण करो, बच्चों को सिखाना पड़ेगा नागरिक का दायित्व क्या है। यह हमारे वेदों में परिलक्षित है, एक बार सिखा देंगे चमत्कारिक नतीजे हमारे सामने आएंगे।
In Bengaluru, I wish to make another important reflection. When I talked of economic nationalism, that was importing items made in the country. Now I come to import of items not made in the country. Please work for import substitution. Sector-wise, you must identify why are we importing these items. Therefore, the corporates are multi-layered, there are big giants. There’s a second layer, there’s a third layer. But most promising according to me is the second and third layer. And more important than that, the class of entrepreneurs. Because, let me address my young friends.
International Monetary Fund accredited India for being a global destination of investment and opportunity that was surely not for government jobs. It was for opportunities. So let our youth remember. They can take to start-ups. They can give wings to their ideas. They need to know that opportunities for them are ever-enlarging.
Bharat today is brimming, bubbling with an environment of hope and possibility. There is an ecosystem by affirmative governance policies that every individual can exploit his or her talent to the fullest extent and realise dreams and ambitions but you have to take the first step. Encourage and hand-hold entrepreneurs. Please do not compete with entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs must get full support from you.
Since you are in business, trade and commerce, you know global challenges are emanating day in and day out. Global conflagrations are not receding. Ukraine, Russia is becoming virtually open-ended war. Hamas, Israel. Supply chains are getting disrupted. In this challenging environment also lies a reservoir of opportunities. When the world is defined by uncertainty and unpredictability, the genius strikes at the root and charges ahead. It is time for us to avail the opportunity.
Thank you so much.