Rising hate-crimes, intolerance to seriously damage economic growth, warns Godrej
Mumbai, Jul 13: Noted industrialist Adi Godrej Saturday warned that the rising intolerance, hate crimes and moral policing can "seriously damage" economic growth of the nation.
Godrej, however, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for presenting a "grand vision" to build a new India and nearly double economy to a USD 5 trillion giant over the course of his second term in office.
He was quick to add that all is not well in the country and pointed out a slew of concerns on the social front, warning of their impact on growth as well.
"It's not all a rosy picture now. One must not lose sight of the massive impoverishness plaguing our nation which can seriously damage the pace of growth going forward and prevent us from realising our potential," Godrej warned while addressing a gathering to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his alma mater St Xavier's College.
The industrialist further warned that economic growth will be impacted if "rising intolerance, social instability, hate-crimes, violence against women, moral policing, caste and religion based violence and many other sorts of intolerance are rampant across the country," are not contained to ensure social harmony.
He said unemployment is at 6.1 percent, a four-decade high, and needs to be tackled at the earliest.
The "massive" water crisis, growing use of environment-damaging plastics and the crippling medical facilities, courtesy the country's healthcare spend is the lowest among its emerging market peers, are some of the other issues that need to be tackled on a war footing, he said.
Noting that many issues must be fixed at a fundamental level, he warned that without doing so, the country cannot achieve her true growth potential.
The remarks come amid a continuing spate of hate crimes like mob-lynching in the name cow or in the name of religion being reported from many parts of the country, including from a Mumbai suburb where a Muslim cab driver was assaulted recently because of his faith.
Godrej congratulated the prime minister for unveiling a vision to create a new India where "we don't live in fear and suspicion and can trust the political leadership for being accountable".
But he was quick to add that things on the ground are taking time to change when it comes to accountability, but exuded confidence that the many measures initiated will lead to significant changes in the times of come.
Exhorting the students not to shy from leadership, he reminded them that leadership is about telling the truth without worrying whether it is popular or not.
He also urged them to be compassionate and empathetic and at the same time level-headed.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
