President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that the Indian economy is moving back towards the high growth trajectory gradually, and added that this was a healthy sign for the future.
Describing 2015 as the year of hope, President Pranab Mukherjee, in his eve of Republic Day address, said, "Economic progress is also a test of democracy. Year 2015 is a year of hope. Key economic indicators provide for much optimism."
"Strengthening of the external sector, move towards fiscal consolidation, moderation in price levels, early signs of rebound in manufacturing and record agricultural production last year augur well for our economy," he added.
"Achieving five percent plus growth rates each in the first two quarters of 2014-15 is a healthy sign for an early reversion to the high growth trajectory of 7-8 percent. The success of a society is measured by both survival and strengthening of its values, institutions and instruments of governance. Our national narrative has been shaped by the principles of its past, triumphs of today and is now ready to own the future by powering its latent potential," he stated further.
He said that the nation's ambition should be to raise the quality of life of Indians by quantum leaps and raise generations enlightened by learning, patriotism, compassion, honesty and a sense of duty.
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He recalled former US President Thomas Jefferson's words in which he said: "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty".
"We must strive for the highest quality in our educational institutions so that we can take our place, within a visible future, among the knowledge leaders of the 21st century. I would urge, in particular, that we lay special stress on the culture of books and reading, which takes knowledge beyond the classroom and frees imagination from stress of the immediate and the utilitarian. We must be a creative people, nourished by innumerable, interlinked rivers of ideas," Mukherjee said.
He also urged the youth to lead the way to mastery of technology and communication in a universe where the cloud has become a library without frontiers, and vast opportunity awaits within the computer in their palms.
He maintained that the 21st century is within India's grasp.
