Bengaluru, Jun 7 (PTI) Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday stressed the critical role played by the farm sector in the nation’s growth trajectory and called on corporates to share their profits with them.

Interacting with industry leaders and entrepreneurs here, he said, “Time has come for corporates to share their profits with the farm sector. Your investment in research or farmland is not charity — it is a gainful investment.” He also urged the political parties in the country to bring down the political temperature and said, “The dialogue between political parties cannot be a confrontation–the dialogue has to be soothing. Democracy is defined, friends, by dialogue and discourse.” According to him, India is a thriving federal society where there has to be sync between the Centre and the States. Dialogue between leaders and political parties is vital–absence of dialogue will not be good for our national mindset.

“Issues of national security, issues connected with our nationalism, and issues connected to our development must be viewed from a national prism, not a partisan one. I do not doubt the political sagacity of people across the spectrum–they are available in all political parties,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by Vice President Secretariat.

Invoking the Vedantic principle of freedom of expression, the Vice-President stated, “Democratic values–cannot be described without freedom of expression and debate. If someone attacks, frustrates or regulates your right to expression, then there is a deficiency in democracy.” He noted that people in industry, unlike politics, are satisfied by balance sheets. “But greenfield projects are not emerging at the pace they should. Please think, converge in clusters to ensure equitable employment and growth,” Dhankhar said.

Speaking on farm-sector integration with industry, the Vice-President, said, “I come from a farming community. The farm sector plays a critical role in the nation’s growth trajectory. But at the moment, it is only producing agro-products–it is not part of the marketing chain.” Calling for industry-farm convergence, he added, “Industry must brainstorm to bring greater synergy with the farm sector. Farmers need to be hand-held; agripreneurs must emerge, but they cannot do so without support.” On the future of India’s growth, Dhankhar underscored the role of research and innovation and said, “We must engage in research of the highest order. Our research capacity will define Bharat’s global standing. Our technological innovation will define how secure we are.” Touching upon strategic peace, he observed that, “peace is fundamental to business and people’s harmony. But peace is never bargained–it comes from strength. The greatest peace is secured when we are ever prepared for war.” Highlighting the evolution of industry’s role in national security, he noted, “There was a time when industry only manufactured armoury. Now, it must lead in technology. Research is the spine of long-term growth.” Declaring that Bharat is on an unstoppable rise, the Vice-President stated, “Bharat is no longer a country of potential– it is a country on the rise. ‘Viksit Bharat’ is no longer our dream–it is our objective. But we must take a quantum leap by increasing per capita income manyfold.” Urging a practical outlook, he added, “We must juxtapose our economic status with our demographic size –1.4 billion people. On empirical estimates, there must be an eightfold increase in per capita income.” PTI AMP KH