New Delhi: India's stature on the global stage has grown significantly and the world expects more from the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, while addressing an event organised to mark 'Good Governance Week'.
"We find ourselves in a different strategic environment. Our stature on the global stage has grown significantly. The world expects more from us and in a globalised era. There is so much that we too can seek from the world for our national development. All of this has direct relevance to good governance," Jaishankar added.
The external affairs minister said the COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge before the country that compelled it to address many issues with greater urgency. "Among them was to keep the supply chains open at a time when many borders were closed."
Jaishankar highlighted the way the government extended assistance to the Indian nationals abroad and the diaspora community in the wake of the pandemic, besides referring to the "active role" played by the Indian missions in many countries in the procurement of medicines and medical equipment.
He said the Ministry of External Affairs led from the front in ensuring that stranded Indian nationals come back home safely.
Referring to the 'Vande Bharat' mission, operation 'Devi Shakti' and assistance provided to Indian nationals facing difficulties, Jaishankar said, "We are a human-centric government dedicated to ease of living".
Under the 'Vande Bharat' mission, India brought back home lakhs of stranded Indian citizens from various parts of the globe following the pandemic. The operation 'Devi Shakti' was launched to evacuate Indian nationals and others from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Kabul on August 15.
"In so far as our nationals abroad and diaspora are concerned, we have again demonstrated through our whole of the government approach involving different ministries that we are there when they really need us," Jaishankar said.
"It could be the Vande Bharat' mission, or operation 'Devi Shakti' or the expanded use of Indian Community Welfare Funds. We are a human-centric government dedicated to ease of living," he said.
Jaishankar also spoke about the significant improvement in services relating to the issuance of passports.
"Our efforts at facilitating the issue of passport is illustrative of the changes brought in since 2014. At various levels, there has been an effective use of technology for the public good. This has made applications easier to receive and processed," he said.
Jaishankar said the use of post offices for passport services is a real case of "minimum government and maximum governance".
"All these are central to our goal of approaching the world as a global workplace," he said.
PTI
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