Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Ashish Chauhan on Friday said the Nobel Peace Prize Committee should consider awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for the humanitarian work done amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chauhan made the remarks at the 57th annual convocation of IIM Calcutta.
The BSE chief, in his convocation address, claimed that the free ration distribution by the Centre to over 80 crore people amid the pandemic was greater in terms of the number of people getting the benefits than the UN World Food Programme. The UN programme was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
“We are thankful to the government for providing us with all the facilities within the limitations they had…. and also providing rations to 80 crore people over the duration of the Covid-19 [pandemic] and even now. It is an unbelievably mammoth task that has not been recognised by us or by the world. The scheme of free ration, known as ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana’, has saved poor Indian citizens from anarchy and misery that we see manifesting in other countries such as China in recent videos. The number of people who were provided with free food for over two years is more than the population of the entire Europe or entire USA, Mexico and Canada or all South American countries,” Chauhan claimed.
Adding further, the BSE chief said: “In comparison the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize recipient UN World Food Programme (WFP) provided a partial assistance to 11.55 crore people compared to India’s 80 crore people. It was approximately 14 per cent of of what India supported in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Does it mean that Nobel Peace Prize Committee will seriously look at the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian governments for humanitarian achievement for awarding Nobel Peace Prize? It remains to be seen.”
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. The WFP provides lifesaving food assistance to millions across the world – often in extremely dangerous and hard-to-access conditions.
The country, despite its limitations, has done well amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Chauhan claimed.
“India, with its very low per capita GDP of $2,000 per person, was not supposed to do well. Despite all the dire predictions from the experts from abroad and within, India has done well compared to many other countries including with ten, twenty, thirty and forty times per capita income compared to our country. In addition we also governed ourselves well in the Covid-19 period,” said Chauhan.
“Vaccination drive, automated and free, for such a huge population of nearly 140 crore, is another achievement,” he further added.
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