Highlighting the growth trajectory of the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here on Monday the perception of people living abroad had changed after seeing how India handled the COVID-19 pandemic and that the country's lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 had a huge impact on Indians living abroad.
Making this assertion at an event at Kirori Mal College, he noted that decisions made at home are keenly followed by the world.
"We are the largest country in the world. We are the fifth largest economy, soon we'll be the third. How we do at home is watched by everybody abroad. What decisions we make at home, is also very keenly followed by the world.
So, if we are now in the coming weeks going to decide our future in whatever way we wish, it's not just a conversation amongst ourselves. It's a conversation or a discussion in which the other six billion people are also tuned in. These are all aspects of why Bharat matters," he said.
The External Affairs Minister said people around the world are fascinated by India's technological feats. He called the Chandrayaan-3 mission and COVID management among the most impactful things done by India in the past 10 years.
Speaking about India's global image at present, Jaishankar said the perception of India changed after how India handled the COVID challenge. He noted that India started as a country of "great concern" and ended up as the "source of the greatest support."
He also spoke about how India has been bringing its people back home when there is a war or any other emergency in another country. He talked about how Indian students were brought back to India under Operation Ganga. Jaishankar noted that many nations asked their citizens if they had to return to their country on their own.
Jaishankar said, "The second is how we secure our citizens of India. Believe me, that has got everybody's attention in the world. You know, a lot of us rightly are very proud of how - I'll give you an example of how we got our students out of Ukraine in Operation Ganga. As I said, rightly so. But I also want you to know that many countries told their students and their citizens, saying, sorry guys, there's nothing I can do. You now have to figure out your way out."
"And these were not developing countries. They were even developed countries, who told their people, you are on your own. So, this change which has come about, that any Indian travelling anywhere has that sense, that look, you know, sometimes people talk about, you know, there's something called a passport index. And the passport index is based on how many places you don't need a visa for," he added.
Jaishankar emphasised that the Indian passport is looked at with greater respect and it shows that the government stands with the person carrying that passport. He said that the passport index should include who will come for a person when he or she is in trouble and the system which is willing to back you up when you go out and termed it the "real value of the passport."
Stressing that people abroad are fascinated by how things like the ration card system and election system work in India, Jaishankar said, "The third is our performance at home. And I often share with my colleagues in the cabinet and the parliament that they think that when the foreign minister goes out of India, all the time we discuss foreign policy makes sense."
Highlighting the infrastructure progress in India, he said the Indian government has built 40 million houses and given them to people who have low incomes.
He stated that there is enormous interest in the world in investing in India, knowing in India and travelling in India and stressed that there are a lot of possibilities in India as the nation is globalising and creating a pathway by its talent and skill at home has access to a global workplace.
