By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, APR 13, 2023: UNION Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that India's Covid success story is hailed the world over as a role model in Crisis Management.

Delivering the inaugural address of the National Conference on "Disaster Resilient Methodologies on Pandemic" at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India's Covid management was hugely successful under the able leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the Covid pandemic, when the world thought that India would be the biggest Covid hotspot, we emerged stronger and within 2 years, came out with 2 vaccines and provided the same to more than 50 countries around the world, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that as compared to other countries, India's strategy against Covid was more effective than any other countries in the world. Due to this pandemic we got to know the loopholes as well as strengths of our system. He added that from the very onset of the pandemic, Prime Minister Modi used to personally monitor the Covid management twice a day.

The Minister said that India has deep and strong inherent potential. Before Covid, the country was not known for preventive healthcare. But turning the adversity into a virtue, India emerged as a role model of Preventive healthcare. This is one of the best success stories India under Prime Minister Modi has given to the world. It has raised our esteem on the global stage, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that with each challenge the country has emerged stronger and this is because right from May 2014, our Prime Minister has been preparing the nation for different catastrophes. Citing the assistance provided by India during the 2015 Nepal earthquake or launching the SAARC satellite, he said that we are serving not only our community but also our neighbouring communities which is a practice very much rooted in our Indian ethos.

The Minister said that during the first lockdown in that disastrous and chaotic situation, NGOs, government and corporates came together to tackle this situation. SPARC, Pune and RSS Jankalyan Pune sheds light on work done regarding the same during these times in the form of case studies which are to be published today. Though the books consist of case studies of western Maharashtra, I believe that it is a short representation of the work done in the GVP model in entire India. Such practical knowledge which can be gained by case studies in this book should serve as reference in all the disaster management centers / institutes and universities, he added.

The Minister mentioned that Covid has not only taught us how to handle adversity but has generated unexplored interest in biotechnology among the youth. He added that before 2014, there were only 50 biotech StartUps, but now there are almost 6,000. Also India's bio-economy has grown 8 times in the last 8 years under Prime Minister Modi from billion in 2014 to over billion in 2022.

Dr Jitendra Singh concluded by saying that today's youth will define India @2047 when India will celebrate its freedom centenary as they have the privilege and opportunity to contribute to the making of ‘New India' as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.