The Vice President said this while addressing members of the Indian community in London

Describing 32 million India diaspora in the world as “24X7 ambassadors of Bharat”, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said members of the Indian community can be “complimented for exemplifying, and that exemplification is conceded by every quarter that they remain fully committed to the Karmabhoomi and also to Janmabhoomi; this wholesome balance they strike with amazing capability.”

On this occasion, he highlighted all-round development being witnessed in the infrastructure sector and digital connectivity in India.

“All societal parameters and elements that go to alleviate the suffering of the people, empowering the common man, are taking place. Infrastructural growth, which could never be dreamt of earlier, is a ground reality. You see it in road, rail, air or technological connectivity,” the Vice President said.

Speaking about growth in the infrastructure sector, Dhankhar said, “Where we used to take hours by road, we have world class expressways, motorways, airways, and of course technological inroads up to the village level. When it comes to rails, we used to have Rajdhanis and other trains, but now we have Vande Bharat.”

“When we look at airports, development is no longer arithmetic. Development is geometric and all this is on one account, the rich human resource of Bharat, DNA of its people who take no time in acquiring skills,” he added.

Throwing light on progress achieved in the field of digitization, the Vice President said, “Go to any village now in India, you will find technological inroads. They will not go anywhere else to apply for a passport, somebody in the village will do it for them. For a driving license, somebody will do it. For an Aadhar card, somebody will do it. For booking a ticket or making payment for service delivery, whether it is water or electricity, somebody will do it.

“Just to give an illustration, digital payment transactions amounted to 1.5 trillion in 2022 in India. If I take the statistics in relation to the US, UK, France, and Germany, taken together- it is four times,” he added.

Talking about internet users and their impact on India’s service delivery system, the Vice President said, “We have 700 million internet users and not just users, they have transformed India's service delivery system to a level which could never be imagined earlier. A sense of transparency, accountability and delivery system is the new mantra. Look at 110 million farmers getting three times a year an amount so far equivalent to Rs. 2.2 lakh crore directly into their account, without any middlemen.”

In this context, he also highlighted how power corridors of India have been done away with brokers in the last nine years.

“Look at the kind of transformation that has taken place. Power corridors have been sanitized by power brokers and the once-flourishing industry of liaising agents is no longer in existence. All this has been brought about,” Dhankhar said.

Speaking high of Indian democracy, he underscored its deep-rooted spread and worth attached to it.

“Can you name any other democracy on earth where the Constitution provides constitutional mechanisms at village level, at the municipal level, at the state level, at central level, at cooperative level? In Bharat all this is structured. Our Institutions are spinally independent. Election Commission of India- amazing work they do. Honourable Members of Parliament had made an input that the Election Commission of India can be a guiding factor, a lighthouse for the rest of the world on how to conduct elections fairly, efficiently, in the shortest time,” the Vice President said,

“I have no difficulty in saying that Indian democracy is functioning at the moment at a level which is unmatched anywhere in the world,” he added.

Praising India’s judicial system and describing Supreme Court Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud as a man of huge experience, the Vice President said, “Where do you have a judiciary as involved as in India? We have at the moment one of the most enlightened souls as the Chief Justice of India, a man who brings on the table huge experience, commitment, passion, and is enormously talented. Look at the orders- it takes him no time to grant relief to an ordinary man.”