United Nations: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought urgent reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to ensure its relevance and credibility as a global institution and make proper representation in the powerful UN body.
Such reforms will make sure that the world body?s goals are implemented with far greater effect for the benefit of the humanity.
Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Summit yesterday, Modi detailed the nation’s goals of seeking climate change and stressed International partnership in this respect.
In his speech, delivered in Hindi, the Prime Minister laid stronger emphasis on the expanded membership of the Security Council, which currently has 15 members, including the Permanent Five.
India and a few other nations are strong contenders of new permanent seats.
“Change is necessary in the UNSC as through proper representation by countries, we will be able to strive for our goals more effectively,” he noted.
Modi spoke of the need to reduce dependence on energy so that the world can strive towards “sustainable consumption”.
He suggested a global education programme to protect the environment to make it sustainable.
He said, “I hope that developed countries will fulfill their financial commitments towards development and climate change without in anyway putting the two under the same head.”
The Prime Minister outlined India’s climate change goals saying he represents a culture that highly respects the earth and that over the next seven years the nation will create 175 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity. Modi stated, “I represent a culture that calls the earth Ma … the Vedas say that the earth is the mother and we are its sons.”
The country would also stress on energy efficiency, tree plantation, coal tax, clean environment, cleaning up of the rivers, waste-to-wealth movement and sustainable development.
He outlined his government programme on financial inclusion, saying 180 million new bank accounts had been opened, which he termed as the biggest empowerment for the poor and said the government was working for a pension plan to ensure the money reaches the much-needed poor.
The Prime Minister said that earlier there was talk only of the private sector or public sector, but his government has focused on the “personal sector”, like individual enterprise through micro finance, innovation, startups, creating opportunities and providing clean water, power, health, education, hygiene for all ? all that is needed to live a decent life.
He said the government has fixed a time limit for the programmes, and added that women empowerment is a major part of his government’s policy through the ?Save the girl child, educate the girl child? canpaign which the government has made into a household mantra. Another was to make agriculture more remunerative by connecting fields to markets.
Modi said his government is taking steps to mitigate the agrarian crisis, improve services and lay stress on investments in the infrastructure sector and focusing on creating smart cities.
He emphasized, “The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is the bedrock of our enterprise for a sustainable world.” (UNI)
