National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday urged industry to empower 1.4 billion citizens and make them globally competitive, drawing a deep lesson from Subhash Chandra Bose’s faith in the capabilities of people for an independent and capable India. There should be a strong army and defense industry.
Speaking at the first Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Memorial Lecture organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the NSA understood the central government’s message behind installing the Bengal freedom fighter’s statue at India Gate.
You have to change the “mindset” and “manas” of people to believe in themselves and do the best in whatever they are doing, and that is what the government is trying to do, he said.
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“Our biggest strength is our human resource – a highly motivated and committed workforce. We need to develop their skills to make them globally competitive,” advocated Doval while acknowledging the potential of the most populous India, which he said would give the country an advantage against China in the future. .
Highlighting the contribution of Indian unskilled and semi-skilled workers abroad, he said “workers in the Middle East alone contributed more than a hundred billion dollars to our economy” which was more than half of the army’s budget.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval | photo credit: vijay verma
The NSA urged business houses to invest in next generation technology to become internationally competitive. “Our companies and people should strive to be innovative and cost-effective. We should adopt critical and emerging technologies to gain a dominant position in the global market,” he stressed.
‘Only the weak are the victims’
Doval also suggested the industry to contribute to India’s security as its rise depends on our defence. He went back to the post-independence era to assert that India “lost the war because we were not prepared”, “we lacked equipment”, “troops”, and “access to territories”. needed to reach.
The lack of foresight to manufacture weapons since the 1950s was one of the reasons that prevented India from realizing its potential. In that context, he remarked, “Only a weak person becomes a victim”.
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Reflecting on the various aspects of Bose’s strong leadership through his speech, he told the gathering of top businessmen that “the country needs inspiring personalities who can work beyond business and industry by going beyond personal interests. It is the feeling of dedication towards the nation that really matters.”
He quipped that if Bose had been there, India would not have had to face partition. According to him, Bose had the qualities of “audacity” and “firmness” which set him apart from the rest during the freedom struggle against the British. But, Doval lamented that the freedom fighter did not get his due in the narrative of Indian history.
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