National, 27 February 2023: Day 1 of Arth – A Culture Fest kicked off in New Delhi’s Sunder Nursery on 24th February 2023 with a critical session on ‘A Billion Rising: What Does the Rise of India Mean for The World’, with Honourable Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur who was in conversation with journalist and author Anant Vijay.
The session highlighted how incomplete and inconsistent information has become a serious concern in recent times. Commenting on the broad theme of the session, Anurag Thakur began by saying, “India’s youth are being celebrated everywhere in the world. In today’s interconnected world, India’s growth can be seen as a significant move for the rest of the world. Not only this, we are also witnessing an unprecedented order in the world and we can see that India is at the forefront of this change.”
When asked about the regulations by the information ministry over media houses, he said, “We, the government of India, have always espoused the practice of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. In doing so, we have provided support to the youth of this country to achieve success in every field. In fact, India has always led the way when it comes to global crises and extended a hand of support to all nations. Operation Ganga played a vital role in saving Indians during the war in Ukraine.”
He further added, “Not just this, Indian films and content are extremely popular all over the world. Time and again we have proved ourselves at the international platform. Our nation is full of ancient stories and I truly believe more support, and more content should be encouraged. We have also always extended complete support to our sportspersons, especially to women sportspersons. And we’ve seen excellent results at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics 2022 where we excelled in women’s hockey, badminton, weight-lifting, and boxing.”
“India is not a follower; it is a leader. When we talk about global leadership, under Narendra Modi’s guidance and Skill India, we have been able to start a conversation on global leadership as well. Multitudes of entrepreneurs have emerged over the last few years and India is now the third-largest ecosystem in the world with 90,000 startups, and 107 unicorns with a 30-billion-dollar valuation. That’s how India’s youth is leading the way,” he explained.
He signed off by saying, “Even in the field of national security, India is leading the way. It has been one of our top agendas. We are now manufacturing our own arms and ammunition instead of importing them from the West, which empowers us further.”