Addressing a webinar on “technology-enabled development”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that technology is a medium to empower the people of the country, adding that technology is the mainstay of making the country Aatmnirbhar or self-reliant.
The PM said that the same vision is reflected in this year’s budget as he encouraged stakeholders to fully implement the themes of the budget in a time-bound manner.
Emphasizing the multidimensional aspect of technology, the PM highlighted the link between government, science, and technology.
“Technology for us is a medium to empower the people of the country. For us, technology is the mainstay of making the country self-reliant”, he added.
Emerging new Global Order
Hinting towards the Russia-Ukraine crisis in Europe, the PM said that “in the light of emerging new global systems, it is critical that we move forward with a focus on Aatmnirbharta”.
The PM also highlighted the Budget’s emphasis on sunrise sectors like Artificial Intelligence, Geo-spatial Systems, Drones, Semi-conductors, Space technology, Genomics, Pharmaceuticals and Clean Technologies to 5G.
He said that the Budget lays down a clear roadmap for 5G spectrum auction and PLI schemes have been proposed for design-led manufacturing related to a strong 5G eco-system. He asked the Private sector to increase its efforts in this area.
Science is Universal and Technology is Local
Referring to the dictum “Science is Universal and Technology is Local”, the Prime Minister said, “we are familiar with the principles of science, but we have to emphasize on how to make maximum use of technology for the Ease of Living.”
He mentioned investment in house constructions, railways, airways, waterways, and optical fibers. He called for ideas of using technologies in these important areas.
Noting the expanding global market for gaming, the Prime Minister said that the budget has focussed on Animation Visual Effects Gaming Comic (AVGC).
Similarly, he also stressed the need to have toys adapted to the Indian milieu and needs.
Promoting Indigenous Ecosystem
Stressing the centrality of communication centers and fintech, the Prime Minister asked for an indigenous ecosystem with less foreign dependence for both.
The Prime Minister also exhorted the private sector to take maximum advantage of the change of rules for the use of geospatial data and the infinite opportunities that have emerged due to the reform.
“The world has seen our reliability from our self-sustainability to vaccine production at the time of Covid. We have to replicate this success in every sector”, Prime Minister Modi said.
Robust Data Security Framework
The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of a robust data security framework for the country and asked the gathering for a roadmap for setting standards and norms for that.
Referring to the third-largest startup ecosystem, i.e. Indian startup ecosystem, the Prime Minister assured the sector of full support from the government.
“A portal has also been proposed for skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling of youth in the budget. With this, youth will get the right jobs and opportunities through API-based trusted skill credentials, payment, and discovery layers”, the Prime Minister informed.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the 2 lakh crore rupees worth PLI schemes in 14 key sectors, in order to promote manufacturing in the country.
He gave a clear direction to the stakeholders to provide practical suggestions in the areas like the use of optical fibers in the citizen services, e-waste management, circular economy, and electric mobility.