India self-reliant for its empowerment: Om Birla

Jaipur, Feb 15: India has to become self-reliant for its empowerment and its people have both the ability and strength to face the challenge collectively, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Sunday.

Birla made the remark while delivering a lecture on "Self-reliant India, Able India" at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Memorial near Dhankya railway station.

"The country has the ability and strength to collectively face challenges. Due to corona, world economies were shaken and their health infrastructure collapsed, but India fought the pandemic collectively," he said.

Referring to the Chinese goods virtually capturing the Indian markets till recently, Birla said the country's over-dependence on other countries has begun decreasing, thanks to the people's ability to take up challenges.

"We were not having production capacity as per the demand, but within such a short time, we worked to change all those things. It happens due to thoughts, it happens with determination, he said.

And this idea was given by Pandit Deendayal," the Lok Sabha speaker said.

He said when the decision to build a new Parliament building was taken, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said whatever work would be done for it, would be done indigenously.

"We have started working in the same direction. Moving in the direction of a self-reliant India, we will complete the new construction, he said.

We have to be self-reliant if we want an empowered India," he added.

On the occasion, people working in various fields and researchers doing research on Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya were honoured and given souvenirs.