New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday commented that India’s Innovative youth has ensured tech and talent globalisation and said “in India, technology is a force of equality and empowerment.” The Prime Minister was addressing the Bengaluru Tech summit via video message.
The Prime Minister called Bengaluru the home of technology and thought leadership, an inclusive and innovative city. For many years, Bengaluru has been number one in India’s Innovation Index, he added.
“Future will be much bigger due to India’s Innovative youth, and increasing tech access”
India’s technology and innovation have already impressed the world. However, the Prime Minister emphasized, that the future will be much bigger than the present because of India’s Innovative youth, and increasing tech access. He said Indian youth has ensured tech globalisation and talent globalisation. Modi said “We are using our talent for global good.”
PM Modi informed that India jumped to the 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index from 81st rank in 2015 this year. The number of unicorn start-ups in India has doubled since 2021, as India emerges as the third largest start with 81000 recognized start-ups. The Indian talent pool has encouraged hundreds of international companies to have their R & D centres in India.
Elaborating on the increasing tech access for Indian youth, the Prime Minister talked about the mobile and data revolution that is taking place in the country. In the last 8 years, Broadband connections rose from 60 million to 810 million. Smartphone users went from 150 million to 750 million. The growth of the internet is faster in rural areas than in urban areas. “A new demographic is being connected to the information super-highway”, Modi said.
He also touched upon democratization of technology in India. India has also shown how to give tech a human touch. He said “in India, technology is a force of equality and empowerment.” He gave the example of world’s largest health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat that provides a safety net for nearly 200 million families i.e. 600 million people and Covid vaccination drive, the world’s largest vaccination drive that ran on tech platforms. He also listed examples from the education sector such as one of the largest online repositories of open courses where over 10 million successful online and free certifications have happened. Referring to the lowest data tariffs the Prime Minister said that it helped poor students to attend online classes during the pandemic.
The Prime Minister emphasized that India is no more a place known for red tape. It is known for red carpet for investors. “Whether it is FDI reforms, or liberalisation of drone rules, steps in the semi-conductor sector, the production incentive schemes in various sectors, or the rise of ease of doing business, India has many excellent factors coming together”, he said. The Prime Minister concluded by an appeal. He said “your investment and our innovation can do wonders. Your trust and our tech talent can make things happen. I invite you all to work with us as we lead the world in solving its problems.”
PIB
