Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that India proved the predictions of many doomsayers wrong, bouncing back from the adverse impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) much sooner than expected. Addressing the valedictory session of FICCI’s annual conclave, Singh highlighted how the proactive approach of the Narendra Modi government led this turnaround.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is a massive challenge that impacted the entire world. The pandemic brought along with it a great amount of uncertainty and adversely affected the global economy. India too was impacted by it,” said Singh.
The defence minister also said that when the Covid-19 outbreak was first reported, the government’s utmost priority was to save the lives of the people of the country. He said that the government was always certain that “we would bounce back”.
“Today, India is back on track with a new vigour in our fight against Covid-19. The role of citizens in successful implementation of the lockdown is no mean achievement,” said Singh. He then went on to describe the steps taken by the Centre to check the spread of the infection and how it became successful with the help of the citizens.
Talking about the defence forces, Singh said the armed forces were valiantly defending our borders while the world was fighting coronavirus. “No virus could deter our armed forces from their duty,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Talking about the defence forces, Singh said the armed forces were valiantly defending our borders while the world was fighting coronavirus. “No virus could deter our armed forces from their duty,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Doomsayers started making prophecies that it will take India two-three years to get back on the track. But we proved them wrong. India bounced back in no time. In Q2, India recorded 7.9% contraction in its GDP. It was a significant improvement in the 23.9% contraction that we witnessed in first quarter,” said the defence minister.
He added that Indian economy is likely to return to pre-Covid levels by the end of the current fiscal year.