Puthucheary highlights opportunities for growth
Singapore supports an economically robust India with opportunities for growth and development, said the city state’s Senior Minister of State, Dr Janil Puthucheary.
“Looking forward, what do we hope for, what do we anticipate, what do we see? We anticipate, and we support an economically robust India,” said Dr Puthucheary at the Singapore launch of a book “Seven Decades of Independent India: Ideas and Reflections”.
“There are tremendous opportunities for growth and development for both countries,” said the Senior Minister of State in the Communications, Information and Transport.
Noting the landmark initiatives that India has undertaken, such as Digital India, Startup India, the efforts around electronic payments, national digital identity, he said “these are the same issues and problems that we are grappling with, albeit on a very different scale.”
“But we look to India to learn the lessons and ask ourselves – how can we apply those lessons to our own journey towards transforming our economy and becoming a Smart Nation.”
Dr Puthucheary said he looked forward to a period of sustained cooperation and engagement between India and Singapore.
“The forward-looking vision and outward-oriented approach of both countries have brought us both great benefits. We are always keen to learn and learn from each other.”
He said “Singapore looks forward to India being a country that continues to provide examples of progress in scientific development, social progress and creative entrepreneurship.
“To that extent, it is important for all of us to know more about India – what she is, what she has gone through – which will provide the context of what she might become.
“So, understanding the last seven decades of independent India will be very important to us, and this book is an excellent place to start,” said Dr Puthucheary.
Singapore has been following India’s development and progress closely. Despite the great difference in size, there are a number of similarities – political practices, the role of institutions, legal systems and education, he pointed out.
“And we have been taking note eagerly of India’s programmes, policies and achievements. There was an “India fever” that swept through Singapore in the 1990s and since then, both countries have worked hard to deepen and widen their cooperation in various spheres of political, strategic, economic, commercial and civilian engagement,” underlined Dr Puthucheary.
The results are visible for all to see, he added.
One example of that degree of cooperation and collaboration is the book that was launched in Singapore yesterday (on 3 July 2018).
“The fact that we have here in Singapore, an Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) that is able to have these types of relationships with journalists, academics, experts – bring them together and support the publication – is a marker of the type of relationship that has been established over the last seven decades.
“This is testimony to the knowledge and scholarship on India that NUS and ISAS have cultivated over time,” he said of the National University of Singapore and its think tank ISAS.
The book was co-authored by Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and currently Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at ISAS, and Dr Amitendu Palit, a Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead at ISAS. It was launched on 3 July 2018. fiinews.com
