Vice-President Dhankhar Appeals to Corporates and 'Public Leaders' to Support R&D

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar stressed the need to develop a culture where every Indian is fit and healthy, stating that the entire country at the moment is part of a marathon march for 'Viksit Bharat' in 2047.

Belagavi (Karnataka):Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday appealed to the corporates and "public leaders" to do all that they can to support research and development, as it will reflect in the growth of the country's economy and even in its diplomatic power. He stressed the need to develop a culture where every Indian is fit and healthy, stating that the entire country at the moment is part of a marathon march for 'Viksit Bharat' in 2047.

Speaking at the 18th foundation day celebration of ICMR-National Institute of Traditional Medicine here, the vice-president said, "We are living in big times. India, home to one sixth of humanity, is no longer a sleeping giant. No longer a country without potential. It is a country on the rise and the rise is unstoppable."

Recalling his parliamentary days and the time when he was a union minister in 1991, Dhankar said the size of our economy in 1990 was smaller than that of London and Paris. "... look at where we are at the moment, the fifth largest global economy, ahead of the UK. They ruled us for over 100 years. (We are) ahead of France, and it is a matter of time we will be ahead of Japan and Germany also. No small achievement," he said.

Dhankar also stressed the need to contain not just the disease but the source of it and said that the focus should greatly be on precaution and prevention "which can be done by dissemination of knowledge that is already there with us." "We must in the country develop a culture that every Indian has to be fit and healthy because the entire country at the moment is part of a marathon march for a Viksit Bharat in 2047. You all are part of this march. You have to be fighting fit. Once that happens not the sky, even space, is not the limit of our growth and that is happening," he said.

Emphasising on the big role of research and development and that it is a long and expensive process, the vice president said, "I appeal to the corporates, I appeal to public leaders. They must do all that they can to support research and development. This research and development will reflect in the growth of our economy and even in our diplomatic power."

"When this country was battling covid, you will be surprised, we supported 100 other countries to tackle it. They (countries) say -- India is a true friend. We got assistance at the time when India was also tackling its big problem, and therefore I urge you and everyone in the corporate (world), please come forward and use your CSR to promote research, development, innovation, startups focusing on these areas. They will do us a great good," he added.

According to the vice-president, India's rich traditional medicines encompassing Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Yoga is a testament to the profound wisdom of our ancestors. They embody a perfect blend of science, philosophy and spirituality, emphasising the harmonious balance between mind, body, spirit and nature.

Noting that the country has a visionary leadership, Dhankar said, "we are having big... achievements in space, on land, on roads, on infrastructure, on sea, in defence... it should not be difficult for us to involve every village in this pious task to make us health conscious, health aware."

"These days, we find people get into depression, people are affected by tension and stress. New kinds of diseases are coming up because we are slightly departing from our cultural ethos. Communication is fundamental," he added.