The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that India has always ensured a fair and impartial approach to its minorities and inclusion and non- discrimination have been our country’s non negotiable articles of faith. He was addressing students from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, who called on him, here today.Rejecting the false claims being made by certain quarters, the Vice President said that India has always been completely committed to protecting the rights of its minorities.Naidu spoke of the stalwarts belonging to minority communities like Dr. Zakir Hussain, Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former Presidents of India, who have occupied a number of high constitutional, administrative, judicial and armed forces positions. He said that the minorities have been equal partners in India’s quest for growth and development.The Vice President said that spoke of the fascinating growth story being written by India. Highlighting the various reforms undertaken by the government to strengthen the economy, Shri Naidu asserted that India’s economy is robust and resilient. India’s economy is at its radiant best. The world is looking at India as a favoured investment destination, he added.Naidu spoke of the significant milestones India has achieved in social justice and inclusion and said that India has implemented strong social security measures and comprehensive insurance schemes and that all its citizens are being brought under the banking net.We strive to protect and empower girl children, to improve women’s education and employment opportunities and to promote entrepreneurship among women, he added.
Shri Naidu observed that India is a thriving, vibrant democracy as demonstrated by the dramatic increase in the number of voters in every successive election.The Vice President said that said that India, being a federal polity, Centre and state governments cooperate and coordinate and are able to put the interest of the nation above all else. He further said that India has always stood for timeless values of humanism, peaceful coexistence, and international brotherhood and shared progress through meaningful partnerships with world nations. India has never tried to conquer or subjugate any other country, he added. Speaking of India’s soft power and its rising prominence in the world order, Shri Naidu said that India is contributing much more in international forums and is forever reaching out and seeking partnerships.The Vice President said that told the students that young people like them were the conduits through which partnerships of the future would be forged. He added that he was an ardent believer in the power and potential of the youth and in their capacity to transform the world.Shri Naidu advised the business leaders of tomorrow to keep a few things in mind, to always keep apart a portion of their company’s profits, to help those who are less fortunate than themselves, to be mindful of the ecological footprints they leave, to relentlessly focus on innovation and to always be ethical. Your businesses should have a human face, he told the students.