Athens | Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that India has shown its capability to the world by unfurling the tricolour on the Moon, and asserted that its science and technology and innovation are creating a wave globally.
Addressing the Indian diaspora in the capital of Greece, he also cited several development feats achieved by his government in the last nine years and emphasised that never before has so much investment been made in infrastructure development.
Optical fibre cable more than 25 lakh km in length has been laid in India since 2014 which, he noted, is more than six times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. India has taken indigenous 5G technology to around 700 districts in record time, he said, drawing cheers from the audience.
The world's highest-altitude rail bridge and motorable road, biggest cricket stadium and tallest statue are in India now, he said.
Referring to India's historic achievement of landing its spacecraft on the Moon, he said one wants to be among family members during the times of celebrations and festivals. "I am now among my family members," he said.
Congratulations to the country have been pouring in from across the world on the successful lunar mission, Modi said, adding Indians everywhere are receiving congratulatory messages.
He noted the success has come days before the festival of Raksha Bandhan and referred to images social media of the Mother India sending its Rakhi in the form of Chandrayaan-3 and the Moon embracing it.
India has become the first country to land its mission on the "dark" zone - the south pole of the Moon - he said.
"Wherever you may be, your hearts beat for India," he said, adding the Indian community mixes with local populations in different countries like sugar with milk and contribute productively.
The Indian economy, he asserted, is going from strength to strength with top global bodies such as the World Bank and the IMF praising it. Leading companies are vying with each other to invest in India, he said, asserting that the country's role is changing fast in the post-COVID-19 world order.
The prime minister invoked ancient ties between the civilisations of India and Greece and praised the role of Sikh gurus in strengthening their relations.
His government had worked with dedication in commemorating events related to Sikhs, he added. Guru Nanak had visited many places in Greece, fostering his message of harmony and brotherhood.
Modi said his birthplace, Vadnagar in Gujarat, as well as his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, have been vibrant since ancient times like Athens.
Noting that more than 13.5 crore people have been lifted out of poverty under his government, he said that with growing size of the country's economy, the income of people are also rising, leading to more investment from them.
India has prioritised the safety of its citizens during different crises, be it the Russia-Ukraine conflict or the strife in Afghanistan, he said.
The Indian government also brought back Sikh 'saroop' (physical copies of Sri Guru Granth Sahib) from Afghanistan with full respect, he added.
Promoting tourism in India, Modi said the way Indians visit Greece, Greeks would soon start travelling to India to witness its rich heritage and bio-diversity.
He asked the Indian diaspora members to tell their friends in Greece about various attractions in India like the country having over eight per cent of global bio-diversity and 75 per cent of tiger population despite having only 2.5 per cent of the landmass, he said.
"Today's India is celebrating its heritage and also linking it with development," he said.