The nation must invest in its people: Shashi Tharoor

CHENNAI: Along with focussing on the economy, India needs to invest in people to become a developed nation, said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor at 21st convocation ceremony of Great Lakes Institute of Management Delivering his speech at the event, Tharoor said, India is the worlds third largest startup ecosystem, over 140,000 startups, more than 160 unicorns, dominating sectors like fintech, e-commerce, healthcare. However, the worlds most innovative and developed nations arent merely determined by their tech parks, their capital pockets or the strength of their numbers but by their investments in good governance, in gender equality, in social welfare and in the overall well-being of their people. In other words, to build a nation thats industrious, innovative and financially bountiful, the nation must invest in its people. While celebrating Indias achievements, from the Mars Orbiter mission to its strides in space technology, Tharoor cautioned that millions still live below the poverty line. Were moving forward as a global leader, were charting a new course of international cooperation. But we still have millions of people who are living below our poverty line, hence, better governance is essential, he said.