17 January,2024 02:59 PM IST | Davos | mid-day online correspondent
Smriti Irani/ PTI
In an interview with PTI, Union Minister Smriti Irani stated that global leaders are confident in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comeback following this year's elections. Irani, who is currently attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, expressed optimism about PM Modi's policy continuity and continued social sector reforms, emphasising India's resilience.
Irani, who led the Indian delegation to Davos, highlighted that the global financial leadership was happy to welcome PM Modi back, seeing India as a stable partner in the face of economic and geopolitical uncertainty. The minister stated that the conversations focused on India's economic story, potential, and assurance of political stability, a report in PTI stated.
Irani acknowledged the World Economic Forum President's faith in India's progress, stating that he hopes to invite PM Modi back to Davos in 2025. She ascribed this guarantee to Prime Minister Modi's unwavering commitment to policy reforms and emphasis on the social sector in India's growth story.
Irani emphasised India's contributions to equitable growth, digital potential, and the viability of digital democracy. She emphasised PM Modi's governance programme, emphasising the importance of women in good governance and launching a social revolution that drew global attention.
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"That means the global community is rest assured that Prime Minister Modi will come back to office," she told PTI, adding, "Prime Minister Modi has stood steadfast not only on policy reforms but also in ensuring that social sector is not ignored in our growth story."
Irani, in her interview with PTI, further said, "Apart from our digital potential in the IT field, the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown to the world how a digital democracy delivers is also one of the buzzwords here at Davos."
"He put women at the centre of good governance. We not only helped build 110 million toilets, that story has often been spoken of domestically, several aspects of India's achievements are now being talked about the world over and that is resonating here at Davos," she told the news agency.
Reportedly, the minister praised India's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting Vaccine Maitri's contributions to healthcare and support for over 160 countries. Irani talked about the importance of India's digital presence as well as accomplishments in the areas of UPI transactions, stock market benchmarks, and poverty alleviation.
Irani addressed conversations at Davos, highlighting important industry viewpoints such as India's leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) for ethical behaviour and initiatives to address the country's digital education needs. She emphasised India's intentions to expand access to postsecondary education and its position as the world's largest skilled labour market, the PTI report stated.
"Like last year itself we recorded 100 billion transactions through UPI, new landmarks reached by our stock markets, over 500 million bank accounts are thriving for the poorest of the poor, over 24 crore Indians taken out of multi-dimensional poverty in India in the past 9 years, all of that has generated a lot of interest here," Irani told citing her conversations at Davos.
She further told PTI, "From an industry perspective, there are 2-3 aspects which thought leaders and innovators are speaking about, including India's leadership in artificial intelligence to create a consciousness about responsible behaviour in that sphere. People are also talking about India's contribution to ensure that education needs of our communities are met digitally and at times phygitally."
In response to worries about AI-driven disinformation, Irani said that India has a strong mechanism in place to thwart fake news, with cooperation between the media and the government to guarantee that the public is informed, per PTI report.
With PTI inputs
