PremiumRam Nath Kovind, President of India, today said the development of two vaccines for Covid-19 in India is a major step for Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) which runs on the spirit of global well-being.
"The recent success of our scientists and technicians in developing two Covid vaccines is a major achievement for the Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan which is driven by the spirit of global well-being," the President said, delivering the Valedictory Keynote address of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention, 2021.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved two vaccines, Covishield from Oxford and Serum Institute of India (SII) and Covaxin, an indigenous vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech.
He said that year 2020 has been the year of a global crisis caused by Covid-19 and India has been at the forefront in forging a global response to combat the enormous challenges posed by the pandemic. "We supplied medicines to nearly 150 countries, making the world look at India as the ‘pharmacy of the world'," he added. He said that the Indian government intends to mitigate any disruptions in global supply chains by enhancing availability of goods and services.
He said the idea of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is about self-belief leading to self-sufficiency but not seeking self-centered arrangements or turning the country inwards. "Our vision of Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat has five key pillars of economy, infrastructure, demography, democracy and supply chains," the President said.
Speaking at the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention today via video conferencing, Kovind said that the seeds of an Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat were sown many years ago by Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Swadeshi and Self-reliance. On this day, Gandhi returned to India in 1915 and has given a wider to social reforms and freedom movement, and during the next three decades changing the country in many fundamental ways, the President said.
"The Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan of India would make the world order more just and fair, promoting greater cooperation and peace," Kovind said. "Our diaspora has an important role in the realization of India’s global aspirations," he added.
