Watch Indian PM Modi's full address to Congress

Mr Speaker Madam vice president distinguished members of the U.S Congress ladies and gentlemen namaskar [Applause] it is always a great honor to address the United States Congress it is an exceptional privilege to do so twice [Applause] for this honor I extend my deepest gratitude on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India [Applause] I see that nearly half of you were here in 2016. I feel your warm as old friends I can also see the enthusiasm of a new friends in the other half I remember senator Harry Reid senator John McCain senator or in Hatch Elijah Cummings Elsie Hastings and others who I met here in 2016. and who are sadly no longer with us Mr Speaker standing here seven Junes ago that is the June when Hamilton swept all the awards I said that the hesitations of History were behind us now when our era it is a cross as is at a Crossroads I am here to speak about our calling for this century [Applause] through the long and widening Road that we have travel we have made the test of friendship a lot has changed since I came here seven summers ago but a lord has remained the same like our commitment to defend the friendship between India and the United States [Applause] in the past few years there have been many advances in AI artificial intelligence at the same time there have been even more momentous development in another AI America and India [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Mr Speaker and distinguished members the beauty of democracy is the constant connect with the people to listen to them and filter pulse and I know this takes a lot of time energy effort and travel it is a Thursday afternoon you fly out there for some of you so I am grateful for your time I also know how busy you have been this last month being a citizen of a vibrant democracy myself I can admit one thing Mr Speaker you have a tough job [Applause] I can relate to the battles of passion persuasion and policy I can understand the debate of ideas and ideology but I am delighted to see you come together today to celebrate the bond between worlds two great democracies India and the United States thank you [Applause] I'm happy to help out I am happy to help out whenever you need a strong bipartisan consensus [Applause] there will be and there must be a contest of ideas at home but we must also come together as one when we speak for our nation and you have shown that you can do it congratulations [Applause] Mr Speaker the foundation of America widely inspired by the vision of a nation of equal people throughout your history you Embrace people from around the world and you have made them equal Partners In The American Dream foreign there are millions here who have roots in India some of them sit proudly in this chamber [Applause] and there is one behind me [Applause] who had made history I am told that the Samosa caucus in now the flavor of the house I hope it grows and brings the full diversity of Indian Cuisine here [Applause] over two centuries we have inspired each other through the lives of great Americans and Indians we pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr we also remember many others who work for Liberty equality and justice today I also wish to pay heartfelt tribute to one of them congressman John Lewis [Applause] Mr Speaker democracy is one of our sacred and shared values it has evolved over a long time and taken various forms of systems throughout history however one thing has been clear democracy is the spirit that supports equality and dignity [Applause] democracy is the idea that welcomes debate and discourse democracy is the culture that gives things to thought and expression India is blessed to have such values from times immemorial in the evolution of the democratic spirit India is the mother of democracy [Applause] Millennia ago our oldest scriptures say hey come sat vipra bahadavadanti it means that truth is born but the wise express it in a different ways now the U.S is the oldest in India the largest democracy our partnership ogres well for the future of democracy foreign we shall give a better future to the world and the better world to the Future [Applause] Mr Speaker last year India celebrated 75 years of its independence every milestone is important but this one was a special we celebrated a remarkable journey of over 75 years of freedom after a thousand years of foreign rule in one form or another this was not just the celebration of democracy but also of diversity not just of Constitution but also of its Spirit of a social empowerment not just competitiveness and cooperative federalism but also of our essential unity and integrity [Applause] we have over 2500 political parties Yes you heard that right 2500 about 20 different parties govern various states of India we have 22 official languages and thousands of dialects and yet we speak in one voice thank you every hundred miles our Cuisine changes from Dosa to Aloo Paratha and from sikhan to sandesh we enjoy all of these we are home to all faiths in the world and we celebrate all of them thank you in India diversity is a natural way of life today the world wants to know more and more about India I see that curiosity in this house too we were honored to receive over 100 members of the U.S Congress in India over the last decade [Applause] everyone wants to understand India's development democracy and diversity everyone wants to know what India is doing right and how among close friends I'm happy to share the same Mr Speaker when I first visited the us as a prime minister India but the 10th largest economy in the world thanks today India is the fifth largest economy and and India will be the third largest economy soon we are not only growing bigger but we are also growing faster when India grows the whole world grows after all we are one sixth of the world's population in the last century when India won its freedom it inspired many other countries to free themselves from Colonial rule in this century when India sends Benchmark in growth it will inspire many other countries to do the same our vision is it means [Applause] together for everyone's growth with everyone's trusts and everyone's efforts let me share with you how this vision is translating into action with speed and scale we are focusing on infrastructure development we have given nearly 40 million homes to provide shelter to over 150 million people thank you that is nearly six times the population of Australia [Applause] we run a national health insurance program that ensures free medical treatment for about 500 million people 500 million people that is greater than the population of South America we took banking to the unbanked with the world's largest financial inclusion Drive nearly 500 million people benefited this is close to the population of North America we have work and building digital India today there are more than 850 million smartphones and internet users in the country this is more than the population of Europe we protected our people with 2.2 billion doses of Made in India covered vaccines [Applause] free cost [Applause] I may be running out of continued soon so I will stop here distinguished members The Vedas are one of the world's all the scriptures they are a great treasure of humanity composed thousands of years ago back then women say yes compose many verses in this Vedas and today in Modern India women are leading us to a better future India's vision is not just of development which benefits women it is enough women late development where women lead the Journey of progress [Applause] a woman has risen from a humble tribal background to be our head of states thank you nearly 1.5 million 1.5 million elected women leaders at various levels and that is of local governments today women serve our country in the army Navy and Air Force India also has the highest highest percentage of women airline pilots in the world and they have also put us on Mars by Leading our Mars mission I believe that investigating in a girl child lifts up the entire family empowering women transform the nation Mr Speaker India is an ancient Nation with a youthful population India is known for its traditions but the younger generation is also making the Hub of Technology be it creative reels on Instagram or real-time payments coding or Quantum computing machine learning or mobile apps filter or data science the Youth of India are a great example of how a society can embraced latest technology in India technology is not about innovation but also about inclusion today digital performance are empowering the rights and dignity of people while protecting protecting privacy in the last nine years or a billion people God a unique digital biometric identity connected with that bank accounts and mobile phones this digital public infrastructure helps us reach citizens within seconds with financial assistance 850 million people receive direct benefit Financial transfers into their accounts three times a year over a hundred million Farmers received assistance in their bank accounts at the click of a button the value of such transfer has crossed 320 billion dollars and we have saved over 25 billion dollars in the process if you visit India you will see everyone is using phones for payments including Street vendors last year out of every 100 real-time digital payments in the world 46 happened in India [Applause] [Music] 400 000 miles of political fiber optical fiber optical fiber cables and cheap data have assured in a revolution of opportunities farmers Jack breather updates the elderly get Social Security payments students access scholarships doctors delivers telemedicine fishermen check fishing grounds and small businesses get launched with just a tap on their phones Mr Speaker a spirit of democracy inclusion and sustainability defines us it also shapes our Outlook to the world India grows while being responsible about our planet We Believe this means the Earth is our mother and we are her children Indian culture deeply respect the environment and our planets foreign the fastest growing economy we grew our solar capacity by 2 300 percent yes you have had rights 2 300 percent [Applause] we became the only G20 country to meet its Paris commitment we made [Applause] Renewables account for over 40 percent of our energy sources nine years ahead of the target of 2030. but we did not stop there at the Glasgow Sameer I propose mission life lifestyle for environment this is a way to make sustainable sustainability are true people's moment to live it to be the job of governments alone by being mindful in making choices every individual can make a positive impact making sustainability a mass movement behave the world rich the need zero Target faster our vision is Pro Planet progress our vision is Pro Planet prosperity our vision is pro-planet people Mr Speaker we live by the motto of vasudeva to come or the ball is one family our engagement with the world is for everyone's benefits the one son one world one grade seek to join us all is connecting the world with clean energy one Earth one Health is a vision from Global action to bring Quality Health Care to everyone including animals and plants The Same Spirit is also seen in the team when we chair the G20 one Earth one family one future we advance the spirit of unity through yoga as well just yesterday the whole world came together to celebrate the International Day of yoga just last week All Nations join our proposal at the end to build a memorial wall to honor the peacekeepers and this year [Applause] the whole world is celebrating the international year of millets to promote sustainable agriculture and nutrition alike during covet we deliver vaccines and medicines to over 150 countries we reach out to others doing disaster at first respondents as we do for our own we share our modest resources with those who need them the most we build capabilities not dependencies [Applause] Mr Speaker when I speak about India's approach to the world the United States occupied a special place I know our relations are of great importance to all of you every member of this Congress has a deep interest in it when the parents and Aerospace in India grow Industries in a state of Washington Arizona Georgia Alabama [Music] South Carolina and Pennsylvania thrive when American companies grow their their research and development centers in India thrived when Indians fly more a single order of for aircrafts creates more than a million jobs in 44 states in America when an American phone makers invest in India it creates an entire ecosystem of jobs and opportunities in both countries when India and U.S work together on semiconductors and critical minerals it helps the world in making Supply chains more diverse resilient and reliable in the Mr Speaker Weavers strangers in defense cooperation at the turn of century now the United States has become one of our most important defense partner thank you thank you good India and the US are working together in space and in the seas in science and in semiconductors in startups and sustainability in fact and in trade in farming and Finance in art and artificial intelligence in energy and education in healthcare and humanitarian efforts again go on and go on but to somebody with why I would say the scope of our cooperation is endless the potential of our synergies is Limitless and the chemistry In our relation is effortless in all this Indian Americans have played a big role they are brilliant in every field not just in spelling bee [Applause] with their hearts and Minds talent and skills and the love for America and India they have connected us they have unlocked doors they have shown the potential of our partnership Mr Speaker distinguished members every Indian Prime Minister and American president of the past had taken our relationship further but Our Generation has to honor of taking it a greater Heights [Applause] I agree with President Baden that this is a defining Partnership of this country because it serves a larger purpose democracy demography and Destiny give us the purpose one consequence is the globalization has been to cover over concentration of Supply chains we will work together to diversify decentralized and democratize Supply chains [Applause] technology will determine the security prosperity and Leadership in the 21st century that is why our two countries established a new Initiative for critical and emerging Technologies our knowledge partnership will serve Humanity and seek Solutions to the global challenges of climate change hunger and health Mr Speaker and distinguished members the last few words have seen deeply disruptive developments with the Ukraine conflict War has written to Europe it is causing great pain in the region sentine involves major powers the outcomes are severe countries of the global South have been particularly affected the global order is based on the respect for the principle of the U.N Charter peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity all right I'll say directly and publicly this is not an era of War [Applause] [Music] but it is one of dialogue and diplomacy and we all must do what we can to stop the Bloodshed and human suffering [Applause] Mr Speaker the dark clouds of covers and confrontation are casting their shadow in the indo-pacific the stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership we share a vision of a free open and inclusive indo-pacific defined by international law free from domination an anchor in asean centrality [Applause] religion where all nations small and large are free and fearless in their choices where progress is not suffocated by an impossible burdens of date where connectivity not Leverage for strategic purposes where all nations are lifted by the high tide of child prosperity our vision does not seek to contract for exclude but to build a Cooperative region of peace and prosperity we work through Regional institutions and with our partners from within the region and Beyond of this poor head immersed as a major force of good for the region Mr Speaker more than two decades after 9 11. and more than a decade after 26th 11 in Mumbai radicalism and terrorism still remain a pressing danger for the whole world [Applause] these ideologies keep taking new identity and forms but their intentions are the same terrorism is an enemy of humanity and that can be no ifs and births in dealing with it we must overcome all such forces sponsoring and exporting Terror [Applause] Mr Speaker 19's biggest impact was the human laws and suffering it cause I wish to remember congressman Ron writes and the staff members who lost their lives to kovid as we emerge out of the pandemic we must give a shape to a new one order consideration care and concern are the need of the hour giving advice to the global South is the way forward that is why I firmly believe that the African Union be given full membership of G20 thank you thank you thank you we must revive multilateralism and reform multilateral institutions with better resources and representation that applies to all our Global institutions of governance especially the United Nations when the ball had changed our institutions too must change or risk getting replaced by a world of rivalries without rules in working for a world New World Order based on international law our two countries will bear the Forefront as partners [Applause] Mr Speaker and distinguished members today we stand at the new dawn in our relationship that will not only shape the destiny of our two Nations but also that of the world at the Young American poet government has expressed when they comes we step out of the shell a flame and Afraid the new dawn blooms as we preheat for there is always lights if only we are brave enough to see it okay our trusted partnership our trusted partnership is like the sun in this new dawn that we spread light all around [Applause] I am reminded of a poem that I once wrought Osman foreign [Applause] foreign [Applause] it would be Rising its head in the skies piercing through the dense crowds with the promise of light the sun has just risen armed with a deep resolve overcoming all the odds to dispel the forces of Darkness the sun had just vision Mr Speaker and distinguished members we come from different circumstances and history but we are united by a common vision and by a common destiny when our partnership progress economic resilience increases Innovation grows science flourishes knowledge advances Humanity benefits our seas and skies are safer democracy will shine brighter and the world will be better place that is the mission of our partnership that is our calling for this century Mr Speaker and distinguished members even by the high standards of our partnership this visit is one of the great positive transformation together we shall demonstrate the democracy is better and democracies deliver thank you [Applause] I count on your continued support to the India U.S partnership when I was here in 2016 I said that our relationship relationship is Prime for a momentous future that future is today thank you thank you once again Mr Speaker Madam vice president and the distinguished members of this honor God Bless America long live India U.S friendship [Applause] thanks for watching our YouTube channel follow today's top stories and breaking news by downloading the NBC News app

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Length: 58min 4sec (3484 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 22 2023