Varanasi, Feb 23 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday said the country today is trying to recover its global status as a source of technology, adding that space and AI are a few areas in which India can play that role with government’s efforts to develop talent.
Interacting with delegates and foreign diplomats at Kashi Tamil Sangamamam 3.0, EAM Jaishankar highlighted the New Education Policy as a step in the direction of preparing people for the challenges of the new world.
“One area where we can show that is space and drones, a lot of our space industry is driven by very young people.. look at AI, the Prime Minister just came from the AI Summit in Paris,” he said, adding that many universities also have drone programmes.
He said, “If we make that effort, India keeps growing and we concentrate on developing the talent of our people then our people, with the history and tradition that they have, will be able to come up to it.”
The Minister said Indian knowledge can make a big difference as tradition can help technology.
Citing examples of the discovery of the benefits of Yoga and traditional medicines, the Minister said it is up to us to rediscover tradition and propagate it.
Addressing the Ambassadors attending the event, the Minister explained Kashi is probably the oldest, continuous city and the reason why we are here is that it is a cultural magnate and people from every part of the country relate with it, especially Tamils.
The Minister said the theme of the event is to celebrate the achievements of Saint Agastya, one of the seven big saints of India who is credited with creating the Tamil language, founding the Siddhi school of medicine and also has a role in a kind of martial art.
As Ambassadors who need to understand what is happening in India, such an occasion is important, he said.
“This is an example of how we are a nation. There is an underlying belief, culture, history and tradition that keeps us all together,” he said, adding that the event is aimed at offering a glimpse of this to the Ambassadors.
Earlier on Saturday, the EAM addressed the Delhi University Literature Festival and expressed his concern over the information about USAID funds being used to influence elections in India.
He said the nation deserved to know about the people linked to the “bad faith activities”.
The EAM said information available suggests that there were activities which had a certain objective to push a narrative or a viewpoint.
