Mangaluru(PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that socio-economic developments in the country as well as progress or failure on the domestic front mattered while dealing with international relations. No country can do averagely at home and then be hugely respected at the international level, the Minister pointed out while delivering the 29th leadership lecture of T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) at Manipal in Udupi on the topic, ‘India in Amrit Kaal.’ “Foreign policy is a reflection of what happens at home, and it is also a driver of what happens at home,” he said, expressing confidence that India would emerge as the leading power in ‘Amrit Kaal’ and move towards becoming a developed nation. “Economics, demographics, skills and technology point in that direction.” Exhorting the youth of the country to prepare and position themselves to suit the global workplace in the next 25 years when the country would complete its centenary of independence, Jaishankar said, “There will be an integration of technology at the global level.” Jaishankar said digitally-driven change was bringing about a silent democratic revolution in the use of technology in India, and that the country had created a digital platform that transformed governance and cut down leakages.

The Minister also spoke about the Centre’s initiatives in various sectors during the last decade that had helped families living in poverty.

Since the pandemic broke out, around 800 million people in the country had been getting food support for the past two-and-half years, he said, adding, “This has been a key factor in dealing with the social consequences of the pandemic.” About one-third of the population in the country were now getting pensions and 415 million people were getting money in their bank accounts, the Minister said. Around 30 million houses had been built for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awaz Yojana, he added.

National campaigns such as Digital India, Jaljeevan Mission, Swachch Bharat, Startup India and Beti Bachao Beti Padao had become a part of the national effort to achieve global goals by the end of this decade, the EAM said.

Earlier in the day, on his arrival in Udupi, the Union Minister visited the Sri Krishna Mutt in the temple town. He was accompanied by Udupi district BJP president Kuilady Suresh Nayak, general secretary Manohar S Kalmadi and other BJP leaders.