“By 2030, 600 million people will be living and operating from their homes. The new urban complexes will have to ensure that the industrial economy from residential centers can adjust. Also, many people are moving back to the villages. Can we ensure that these villages are developed into new hubs for economic activity? Can they be equipped with better connectivity and infrastructure,” he said, speaking at the occasion.

The fact that survival is related to the well-being of all is the most enduring message of the pandemic, Doval pointed out. “Those who have funds and are better off should expand their outlook so that it touches the lives of everyone. This is what Swami Vivekanand also said, that if you want to find God, you need to serve man,” he said.

He also said that Vivekananda took a very holistic view of life. “For him a person playing football would be nearer to heaven than one chanting the Bhagavad Gita. He understood that every Individual and nation needed to take care of its basic material requirement to exist and progress. No spiritual alleviation or growth was possible when the basic survival was threatened,” Doval said.