BENGALURU: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that, like the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration), India must have a Bharat FDA of global standards.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the 8th India Ideas Conclave “Building Brand Bharat”, organised by India Foundation in Bengaluru, Sitharaman said, “Just like the US FDA, we must have our Bharat FDA of global standards.”
India is setting standards in pharmaceuticals. Can we in India not have a Bharat FDA? Food and Drug Administration, which can give global standards of benchmarks. If you reach that benchmark, your pharmaceutical products are going to be good enough or even unsurpassed. We need to focus on those sorts of things,” she said.
She said people outside India are willing to recognise that brand of India which dominated in science. That needs to be continued and ‘Brand Bharat’ should speak for excellence in science and technology, she said.
She said India’s strength in science has been unbroken since ancient times. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is doing spectacular things about space research, and India is leading in biosciences too, she said.
The FM said economic wellbeing has got to be guided by Dharma! They need to brand India as a responsible capitalist country, she said.
She said that at least, the top 100 tourist centres in India should have a self-learning programme that is digitally run for the architecture of the iconic site. Temples or iconic tourist centres will have to be handled with a lot more perspective. This is where India’s image is being projected. There is a need for better
servicing, catering, tourist guides, and immersive experience and it is possible to do that, she said.
According to Sitharaman, the global talking points of today, such as sustainability and circular economy were once woven in the fabric of our existence. She said much before the West went ‘vocal for local’, India was doing it.