External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the number of cashless transactions the United States does in three years, India does in a month. Jaishankar's statement came while he was interacting with the people of the Indian community in Nigeria on Sunday.
"The life of every Indian citizen has become easier and this is because we have embraced technology in a very deep way. You can see this in payment, very few people today pay in cash and very few people accept cash. Today, we do as many cashless payments in India in a month as much as America does in three years," Jaishankar said at the event.
He further highlighted the five major examples that showcase the transformation of India in the last decade.
"For me, how a country deals with a challenge, recovers from the challenge, and is able to pose such a strong economic performance, how the life of an average citizen becomes better, how we are capable of something that captures the imagination of the world and how do we look after our people outside the country. These are five true examples of what changed in India in the last decade," Jaishankar said.
Stressing that India is the fastest-growing economy in the world, Jaishankar said that business sentiment about New Delhi has improved and as a result, the flow of investments into the country has reached its highest ever.
"Today, what is happening in the economy, we are the fastest-growing big economy in the world, but it is much more than that. Today, if you see the economic activity in India, wherever you go, something is being built. A metro is being built, a road is being built, new airports are coming up, new trains are coming up, railway stations are coming up. If you go to your village, piped water is coming up, there is an electricity connection coming," Jaishankar said.
At the event, the External Affairs Minister also lauded the way India dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic
"I take great heart, great hope, and great faith in how India dealt with it. When Covid started, during a virtual meeting in 2020, it was said that the country that would be most unable to cope with Covid would be India. Two years later, I saw that we had been through the Covid wave and lockdowns. We started making medicines for the rest of the world," Jaishankar told the gathering.
The External Affairs Minister arrived in Nigeria after attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Uganda.
Jaishankar will co-chair the sixth India-Nigeria Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with his counterpart and meet with other leaders.
He will also inaugurate the third edition of the Nigeria-India Business Council meeting, deliver a speech at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, interact with business delegates and inaugurate a bust of Mahatma Gandhi.
He will also chair the regional conference of Indian heads of missions.
By: Vani Mehrotra
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/eam-s-jaishankar-says-india-does-cashless-transactions-in-one-month-as-united-states-does-in-3-years-2491794-2024-01-22
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