Rajkot: External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar reiterated India's growing stature in the world and referred to the BRICS summit which was held under the presidency of South Africa last year, recounted the incident when South African President asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sit with him in the meeting as he saw India as an inspiration for other developing countries.

"There was a big conference going on there, there were 40-45 Presidents and Prime Ministers and they all felt, because these were mostly Presidents and Prime Ministers of developing countries, they felt that India has done it somewhere. Those who were our hosts, South Africa was the President, he said to Modi ji that come, you sit with me, at least if I touch you, then some of your light will fall on me also, that he felt that your achievement is an inspiration for us," EAM Jaishankar said in his address at the Intellectual meet in Gujarat's Rajkot.

"Today, India has become a model for many countries. India is not just a democracy that delivers but a democracy that is also an inspiration for the world. Now when we say being capable, the world's expectations also grow along with responsibilities," he added.

EAM Jaishankar also described his visit to Tanzania where he received a rousing welcome from the local people of the country and shared that people turned out in large numbers and they knew that India provided them tap water.

"Last year I went to Tanzania and I was going from one city to another in Tanzania, there were villages in between. I saw it was like it happens here and people came out in such numbers, as if some political event was going on. There, people were standing on both sides of Main Road and the reason for this was that today in 26 cities in Tanzania," he said.

"Because of the Jaljeevan Mission, Indian companies have strengthened themselves in water technology, we were able to take this water technology to Tanzania and there to the people of Tanzania. People in Tanzania thinks that if we got water it's because of India," he added.

India's Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Tanzania is a program that aims to provide tap water to all rural households by 2024. The program will also implement source sustainability measures, such as water conservation, rain water harvesting, and grey water management, according to Indian embassy in Tanzania official website.

The mission is based on a community approach to water and include extensive information, education, and communication as a key component.

The first phase of the program is operational and provides potable water to 2 million people in Dar-es-Salaam. The program has achieved a milestone of providing tap water connections to 13 crore rural households.

The JJM is part of the Jal Shakti Ministry, which is the nodal ministry for the implementation of the scheme. The Government of India has extended Lines of Credit for water projects amounting to USD 1038.65 mn in Tanzania since 2012.

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