The Indian Panorama Editor Indrajit Saluja interviewed Ambassador Randhir Kumar Jaiswal, Consul General of India at New York. This is the fifth and concluding  part of the interview.

Consul General of India at New York Mr. Randhir Kumar Jaiswal, a few days after joining the present position on 19th July 2020  in an interview with The Indian Panorama, had spelt out  in brief  his  priorities which included nourishing and  strengthening the already strong bonds between India and the US, and exploring  new areas of cooperation and relationship in diverse fields of  economy, trade, technology, and   culture etc. Ambassador Jaiswal added  that serving the Indian Diaspora remained the primary focused concern of  the Consulate. The strengthening of multi-stake holders relationship will be another priority, he said.

The Indian Panorama interviewed him a couple of times, and each time, Mr. Jaiswal was forthcoming on all issues raised ,and questions asked.

Three days to the end of the year 2022, Mr. Jaiswal agreed to sit with the editor of The Indian Panorama to share for the readers of the publication his thoughts. It was a long interview in which Ambassador Jaiswal touched upon all the aforementioned areas.

In the first of the interview published two weeks ago, Ambassador Jaiswal focused on the vibrant Indian American community and its contribution. In the second part of the interview, we brought  to readers Ambassador’s perspective on Indian students as a powerhouse of knowledge, catalysts of  national integration, and promoters  of Indian arts, culture and values.

In the third part of the interview, Ambassador Jaiswal spoke  about promoting economic relations between the two nations as one of the important functions of the Consulate, besides reiterating what he had said in the first part of the interview that the Consulate is “committed to public service”.

In the  fourth part of the interview, Ambassador Jaiswal outlined the big events planned in the year 2023.

In this fifth and concluding part of the interview, Ambassador Jaiswal speaks of the growth of India at a fast pace which will enable the nation to become the third largest economy in the world.

Here are some excerpts from the interview.

“I’m sure with the kind of support we have from our friends here, partners here, we  will continue on  that path and soon will become the third largest economy in the world overtaking Germany  and Japan. So that will be a huge change, huge impact. It will have a huge impact globally. And finally,  to all your readers: stay healthy, stay together. stay united. Let’s think as one,  for therein lies our welfare, our wellbeing. The  motto of India’s G 20  presidency is  ”One World, One Family, One Future”.  Let’s live  it together.”- Ambassador Jaiswal

TIP: Do you think you would be doing something special on the coming August 15^th?

Ambassador:15th August will be special one way or the otherbecause it will be  culmination of the 75^th year of Independence.

TIP: What else is on the calendar?

Ambassador:  We have Holi coming up in early March. It’s a popular festival of colors. Don’t miss out on 21st June International Yoga Day. Each time we do a huge celebration at Times Square. And we also use that occasion to promote a more sustainable and  healthy way of living. We promote a lot of Indian products. We have a  one district one product project, and a  lot of superfoods,  a lot of wellness products are available  on the side of the yoga sessions that we hold. We will try to do International Yoga Day in style this time.  Apart from Times Square, we’ll also look for some other innovative ways of celebrating International Yoga Day. We want to reach out and do International Yoga Day in universities so that we can bring the youth closer to yoga. Yoga is something which is helpful to everybody.  We are It helps you to look inside. All your senses are directed outwards. Yoga helps to you to look inwards, and that is a harmony that brings greater happiness and bliss in life.

TIP: I was in Guatemala. It was a pleasant surprise to find Yoga being taught and practiced. India’s ambassador Manoj Mohapatra had me witness one of the Yoga sessions. Later on, I am told a Yoga camp with 5000 was held successfully. This speaks for acceptance and popularity of Yoga in many parts of the world.

Ambassador:So, you know, today yoga has a true global embrace. Everybody understands the benefits of Yoga. It’s an attraction for people and it has helped them. And, for that reason, we have, regular classes on yoga, because we want  to connect with the yoga community here. Look  at the number of Yoga Studios. You  go to any gym in New York,  or any part of the United States , or any  part of the world, there  will be a session on yoga on a daily basis.

TIP: I wish you all the best,  sir, I wish India all the best  in the coming years and we have seen how the graph of India has been rising across the world in terms of politics, in terms of diplomacy, in terms of economy, in terms of invention, in almost every field, and hopefully we will have better news in 2023 from you again, and with that only one last thing as we always do. We would like you to give a message to readers of the Indian Panorama.

Ambassador: Before  I give the message I would like to highlight four data points. One, India is the fastest growing major economy in the world. We should be signing off the year at  6 to 7% .  . Vaccination of  2.2 billion.  14 million bank accounts.  60 million get cleantap water connections, and  so on so forth. Second data point.  40% of digital payments globally is happening in India. That itself will tell you the kind of vibrancy that is there. Third  data point. We have seen a huge expansion as far as connectivity is concerned both on the physical and digital  sides- Roads, expressways. But just to give you an example, in 2014 or thereabout we had 70 airports. Today we have doubled that capacity. We  are looking at around 440  airports in India’s  huge expansion. Fourth data point. Recently, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, overtaking UK . I’m sure with the kind of support we have from our friends here, partners here, we  will continue on  that path and soon will become the third largest economy in the world overtaking Germany  and Japan. So that will be a huge change, huge impact. It will have a huge impact globally.

And finally,  to all your readers: stay healthy, stay together. stay united. Let’s think as one,  for therein lies our welfare, our wellbeing. The  motto of India’s G20 presidency is  ”One World, One Family, One Future”.  Let’s live  it together.

CONCLUDED…