The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar today emphasized that India stands at the ‘Front leagues of nations’, in the domains of land, sky, sea, and space. This achievement was underscored by the launch of INS-Vikrant last year and development of several indigenous defence equipment, he noted. 

Addressing the participants of the 49^th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) in Delhi, the Vice-President traced the journey that the nation has traversed so far from ‘Fragile Five’ to ‘Big Five. He said that India today stands as the fifth-largest global economy and is poised to become the third largest economy by 2030. 

Underlining the importance of ‘decision making’ for the growth of the nation, Shri Dhankhar commended 'Men in Uniform'. Citing the instance of natural disasters that wreak havoc, the Vice-President lauded the defence personnel for displaying the highest level of performance and exemplifying their unwavering sense of duty. 

Lauding Indian talent, Shri Dhankhar remarked that “Indian human genius is unrivalled in the world”. The willingness of all sections of population to adopt technology, stressed the Vice-President, has resulted in an astounding per capita internet data consumption exceeding that of the US and China taken together.

Highlighting a significant shift from an ecosystem once embedded in patronage and corruption, the Vice-President noted that the current landscape reflects a 'big change,' with power corridors now ‘thoroughly sanitised of power-brokers, liaison agents and middlemen who extra legally leveraged decision making.’ 

Praising the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 as a significant achievement by ISRO, the Vice-President mentioned that ISRO has 'carved out a niche for itself' by launching satellites for several developed nations at the most competitive market price.

Observing that Disruptive Technologies have made inroads into homes and workplaces, the Vice-President stressed that their power have to be unleashed. He underlined that India is among the frontline countries when it comes to undertaking research and focusing on emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, and 6G.

Referring to the participants as the 'Epicentres and Nerve-Centres’ of significant change due to their representative capacity, the Vice-President urged the participants to take away from the course something beyond their usual expectations, which would enrich their professional acumen even further.

Shri Surendra Nath Tripathi - Director General, IIPA, Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, Secretary to the Vice-President, Shri Amitabh Ranjan, Registrar, IIPA, Dr. Sachin Chowdhry, Programme Director 49^th APPPA and other dignitaries were also present at the event.

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MS/JK/RC