Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday praised the Union government’s initiatives such as the demonetisation drive, claiming that “the money has come back to banks now”.
He was speaking at the valedictory event of the platinum jubilee celebrations of Rauzathul Uloom Arabic College at Feroke near Kozhikode.
“The government has taken up the idea of inclusive growth. Some people ridiculed the idea of Jan Dhan scheme of [having] bank accounts for everyone. People started wondering not everyone has money, why should they have bank accounts,” he said.
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Mr. Naidu claimed that 70 crore Indians had bank accounts now, and “there is good amount of money”. He added: “After November 8, 2016 [when demonetisation was announced], many people realised the importance of bank accounts. They started asking their drivers and cooks, do you have a bank account, can I park my money for some time? Now, the money has come back to banks, and interest rates have come down.”
The purpose was to bring back the money which was lying under the pillow, inside the bathroom, to the bank, which had been achieved, he said.
The Vice President also he stressed the need to appreciate “inherent Indian knowledge” while highlighting the technological advancement in the ancient period.
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“Once upon a time, India was known as Vishwaguru. Students from across the globe used to come to Nalanda and Takshashila. Because of foreign invasion, we have gone back in many areas,” the Vice President said. He, however, added that Indians should not forget their culture and heritage of their forefathers.
“There is inherent knowledge here. People have talent. Sushruta was the first surgeon. He talked about surgery in Sastrashastra. Varahamihira was [a frontrunner] in astronomy. After A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, we have become familiar about Varunastra, Agni, Prithvi, and missiles,” Mr. Naidu observed.
Harking back to a glorious Indian past, he claimed that there were references to missiles in the Puranas also. “We heard about the Pushpaka Vimana in the Ramayana . Whether it was right or wrong is a different matter, but there was a discussion on the Pushpaka Vimana. Vimana means space,” he added.
The Vice President said that India was now trying to compete and move forward. “It is the right time for the government and the private [sector] to come together. The government has so many challenges, and education has to be taken care of by private people too. Public-private partnership is necessary,” he said. Mr. Naidu added that people’s mindset of sab kaam sarkaar karega, hum bekaar baithen to chalega (government will do everything even if we remain idle) would have to be changed.