What has brought us thus
far will take us further ahead. But we will have to learn to
adjust our sails, quickly and deftly, to the winds of change. Evolutionary and
incremental growth will have to accommodate rapid disruptions brought in by
advances of science and technology. Innovation, more so inclusive
innovation, will have to become a way of life. Education will have to keep pace
with technology. (420) In the race between man and machine,
the winner will have to be job generation. The velocity of
technology adoption will call for a workforce that is willing to learn and
adapt. Our education system will have to join hands with innovation to prepare
our youth for life-long learning. Our economy has been performing well despite the challenging
global economic conditions. (480) In the first half of
2016-17, it grew at a rate of 7.2 percent, same as that last year, showing
sustained recovery. We are firmly on the path of fiscal consolidation
and our inflation level is within comfort zone. Though our exports are yet to
pick up, we have managed a stable external sector with sizeable foreign
exchange reserves. Demonetization, while immobilizing black money and fighting
corruption, may have led to temporary slowdown of economic activity. (560) As
more and more transactions become cashless, it will improve the
transparency of the economy.
Born in
independent India, three generations of citizens do not carry the baggage
of colonial past. These generations have had the privilege of acquiring
education, pursuing opportunities and chasing dreams in a free nation. This
sometimes makes it easy for them to take freedom for granted; to forget the
price that extraordinary men and women paid to win this freedom; to
forget that the (640) tree of freedom needs constant care and
nourishment. Democracy has conferred rights on each one of us. But along with
these rights come responsibilities which have to be discharged. Gandhiji
said and I quote: "The highest form of freedom carries with it the
greatest measure of discipline and humility. Freedom that comes from discipline
and humility cannot be denied; unbridled license (700) is
a sign of vulgarity, injurious alike to self and others”. Youth
today are brimming with hope and aspirations. They pursue their life goals,
which they perceive will bring them fame, success and happiness, with
single-minded devotion. They consider happiness as their existential objective,
which, of course, is understandable. They search for happiness in the highs
and lows of day-to-day emotions, and in the fulfilment of the objectives
they have set for themselves. They look for a job as well as a purpose in life.
Lack of opportunities leads to frustration and unhappiness which manifests
itself in anger, anxiety, stress (800) and aberrations in
behaviour. This has to be dealt with by inculcating pro-social behaviour
through gainful employment, active engagement with community, parental
guidance, and empathetic response from a caring society. One of my predecessors
left on my table a framed (840) quotation which I quote:
"The object of Government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers
or races but the happiness of the common man”. Happiness is fundamental to the
human experience of life. Happiness is equally the outcome of economic and
non-economic parameters. The quest for happiness is closely tied to sustainable
development, which combines human well-being, social inclusion and environmental
sustainability. We must make happiness and well-being of our people as
the touchstones of public policy.
Many of the flagship
initiatives of the Government have been designed to promote the
well-being of the society. The Swachh Bharat Mission aims at a Clean
India by 2nd October, 2019 to coincide with the 150th Birth
Anniversary of Gandhiji. (960) Increased spending on
programmes like MGNREGA is enhancing employment generation to rejuvenate the rural
economy. Aadhaar, with its present (980) reach of over 110
crore people, is helping in direct transfer of benefits, plugging leakages and
improving transparency. The Digital India programme is creating a knowledge
economy through universal provision of digital infrastructure and platforms
for cashless economic transactions. Initiatives like
Start-up India and Atal Innovation Mission are fostering innovation
and new-age entrepreneurship. Under the Skill India initiative, the National
Skill Development Mission is working on skilling 300 million youth by 2022.
It is my firm conviction
that India’s pluralism and her social, cultural, linguistic and religious
diversity are our greatest strength. Our tradition has always celebrated the ‘argumentative’
Indian; not the ‘intolerant’ Indian. Multiple views, thoughts and philosophies
have competed with each other peacefully for centuries in our country. A wise
and discerning mind is necessary for democracy to flourish. More than
the unison of ideas, a healthy democracy (1120) calls for
conformity to the values of tolerance, patience and respect for others. These
values must reside in the hearts and minds of every Indian,
inculcating in them a temperament of understanding and
responsibility. We have a noisy democracy. Yet, we need more and not
less of democracy. The strength of our democracy is evidenced by the fact
that over 66 percent of the total electorate of 834 million voted in the
2014 General Elections. The depth and breadth of our democracy sparkles in the
regular elections being held in our Panchayati Raj institutions. And yet, our
legislatures lose sessions to disruptions when they should be debating
and legislating on issues of importance. Collective efforts must be made to
bring the focus back to debate, discussion and decision-making. As
our Republic enters her sixty-eighth year, we must acknowledge that our (1260) systems
are not perfect. The imperfections have to be recognized and rectified.
The settled complacencies have to be questioned. (1280) The
edifice of trust has to be strengthened. The time is also ripe for a
constructive debate on electoral reforms and a return to the practice of the
early decades after independence when elections to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies
were held simultaneously. It is for the Election Commission to take this
exercise forward in consultation with political parties.
In a fiercely competitive
world, we have to work harder than ever to redeem the promises
that we make to our people. We have to work harder because our war on
poverty is not yet over. Our economy is yet to grow at over 10 percent
for an extended period of time to make a significant dent on poverty. One-fifth
of our (1400) countrymen still remain below poverty
line. Gandhiji’s mission to wipe every tear from every eye still remains
unfulfilled. We have to work harder to provide food security to our
people and to make the agriculture sector resilient to the vagaries of
nature. (1440) We have to provide better amenities and
opportunities to our people in villages to ensure a decent quality of life. We
have to work harder to provide enhanced employment opportunities to our youth
through the creation of world-class manufacturing and services sectors. The
competitiveness of the domestic industry has to be improved by focusing on
quality, productivity and efficiency. We have to work harder to
provide safety and security to our women and children.
Women must be able to lead their lives with honour and
dignity. Children must be able to enjoy their childhood to the fullest. We have
to (1540) work harder to change our consumption pattern which
has resulted in environmental and ecological degradation. We have to
appease nature to prevent it from unleashing its fury in
the form of floods, landslides and droughts. We have
to work harder because our pluralistic culture and tolerance are
still being put to test by vested interests. Reason and moderation should
be (1600) our guide in dealing with such situations.
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