"In Two To Three Years, India Will Move Ahead Of Japan, Germany": Vice President

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said education is the most impactful transformational mechanism to bring about equality and cut down inequality.

Addressing a function in Gondia district of Maharashtra, he said young parliamentarians with vision, mission, and talent have a big role to play in building Vikasit Bharat of 2047.

Mr Dhankhar also suggested that "value addition" to farm produce will bring qualitative improvements in the lives of farmers.

"Today, the world is seeing the change in India and the change is imminent when the leader is aware of the ground reality and has the ability to change them. Today, we have the able leadership at the Centre and in the state who are well capable of bringing the change," Mr Dhankhar said.

He said India is fast emerging as a strong nation.

"In 1989 when I became MP for the first time, it was a difficult time for our country. The country had to send its gold reserve by air to France where it was kept as a mortgage in two banks so that our country's financial credibility could be sustained," the vice president said.

But the time has changed now and we have overtaken Canada, France, and England to become the 5th largest economy in the world, he added.

"India is currently the fifth largest economy in the world. In the next two to three years, we will move ahead of Germany and Japan," he added.

The function was organized to mark the 118th birth anniversary of Manohar Patel, father of ex-Union minister Praful Pate, who belongs to NCP.

"Education is the most impactful transformational mechanism to bring about equality and cut down inequality. Young parliamentarians with vision, mission and talent have a big role to play in building Viksit Bharat of 2047," the vice president added.

Mr Dhankhar said Gondia is a major centre of rice trade and that he would like to suggest to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to work on value addition to rice for its marketing.

"I want to tell CM Shinde to do value addition to rice as its main marketing point. For the growth of farmers, value addition to their produce is important. Such changes would bring qualitative improvements in the life of cultivators," he said.

He said Swachh Bharat, gas connections, and tap water connections to every household have become a reality.

Mr Dhankhar also hailed women's reservation and their empowerment.

CM Shinde said Maharashtra is ahead of other states in all the fields and the "double engine" government is making progress.

"Maharashtra will also achieve the goal of becoming a USD 1 trillion economy and contribute to the nation's progress," Mr Shinde said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)