Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul today praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "raising" India's profile on the world stage and his efforts towards educating the girl child.
Paul, the chairman of UK-based Caparo group, said that the last Indian leader to have the stature of Modi was Indira Gandhi and called upon the businesses to treat this moment as an "opportunity".
"Modi government has promised delivery. The first majority government after 30 years. He has given hope and raised the profile of India.
"At the moment India's standing is high at the world stage and Modi is the most sought after politician. The last Indian leader to have that standing was Indira Gandhi," he said.
Paul was speaking during a session with representatives of business houses including Bharti Enterprises and Intel under the aegis of the Global Business Coalition for Education.
The initiative is part of an effort to bring the business community together for delivering quality education to children and youth.
Paul asked the corporate representatives to not leave the task of educating the marginalised entirely to the government, stressing that businesses "must take some responsibility".
He also made a strong pitch for education of the girl child.
Referring to the controversial BBC documentary on December 16 gangrape case, he decried the attitude of lawyers and the convict featured in it. However, he felt that a ban did not help.
"The attitude of the lawyers and the convict was disgraceful. I don't know why it was banned but after the ban more people have seen it.
"We need to fight against prejudices and need to be open about things and corporates can play more role in raising awareness," he added.
Paul, who is also the Chancellor of University of Wolverhampton, emphasised that "girls of the same age are far brighter than the boys" and India was losing out on their talent which should be tapped.
