India is the mother of democracy, and its guiding philosophy is ‘‘striving together for inclusive growth”, as it is based on the belief that the needs and aspirations of every human being are equally important, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
“Whether it is our effort to fight climate change through lifestyle changes, to conserve water through distributed storage or to provide clean cooking fuel to everyone, every initiative is powered by the collective efforts of the citizens of India,” Modi said in his virtual address at a leader-level plenary of the second ‘Summit for Democracy’ on Wednesday.
The summit is co-hosted by the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Zambia. The Leader-level Plenary on “Democracy Delivering Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity” was hosted by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. Presidents and Prime Ministers from Greece, Italy, Botswana, Timor-Leste, Kenya, Israel, and Croatia also spoke at the plenary.
Later in the day, US President Joe Biden is to host the Leader-level Plenary on “Democracy Delivering on Global Challenges,” where leaders from other countries, including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are scheduled to speak.
‘Vaccine maitri’
Modi pointed out that during Covid-19, India’s response was people-driven. “It is they(citizens) who made it possible to administer over 2 billion doses of vaccines made in India. Our “vaccine maitri” initiative shared millions of vaccines with the world,” he said.
India being the fastest-growing major economy today is the best advertisement for democracy in the world, the PM said. “There is much to say about the virtues of democracy, but let me say just this: India, despite the many global challenges, is the fastest-growing major economy today... This itself says that democracy can deliver,” he said.