Lauding the leadership, policy makers and administrators at the Centre and in states for making timely interventions to maintain supply chains intact in the vaccination drive, President Ram Nath Kovind said it is due to such interventions that the economy is on the move again. “It is a testimony to India’s spirit in the face of adversity that the economy is projected to grow at an impressive rate in this fiscal, after going through contraction last year. This shows the success of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan launched in the previous year. The impressive economic performance is made possible due to improvement in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.”
Addressing the nation on the eve of the 73rd Republic Day, President Kovind said that India showed an “unmatched resolve” when faced with the pandemic. “The pandemic management was bound to be all the more difficult in India. We have high population density, and as a developing economy we did not have the level of resources and infrastructure needed to battle this invisible enemy. But it is only in such difficult times that the resilience of a nation shines forth. I am proud to say that we have shown an unmatched resolve against the coronavirus. In the first year itself, we raised the healthcare infrastructure and also reached out to help others. By the second year, we had developed indigenous vaccines and launched the world’s biggest vaccination drive in history. The vaccination drive is progressing at a quick pace in our country. During the pandemic, we have reached out to several other countries with vaccines and other medical help. This contribution by India has been appreciated by international organisations,” he said.
