PM Narendra Modi said India is undergoing crucial digital transition in five areas — public information infrastructure, governance and financial inclusion, startup ecosystem, industry and services, and telecom and cybersecurity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, November 18, said that India is building the world’s most extensive digital public information infrastructure. This is among the five important digital transitions taking place in India, he said. He also said that India is now focusing on hardware and aims to become a key semi-conductor manufacturer.
PM Modi was delivering the keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue — an initiative of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“Over 1.3 billion Indians have unique digital identities. We have the world’s most efficient payment infrastructure, the UPI. Over 800 million Indians use the internet. India is one of the largest consumers of data per capita,” Modi said.
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Speaking about India’s second transition phase, he said that the country was using digital technology in governance, inclusion, empowerment, connectivity, and delivery of benefits and welfare to transform lives.
He added: “Everybody has heard of India's financial inclusion. Over 1.1 billion doses of vaccines have been delivered using Aarogya Setu and CoWin platforms. Our ‘one nation, one card’ will deliver benefits to the population anywhere in the country.”
“Thirdly, India has the third-largest and fastest-growing ecosystem. Unicorns are coming up every few weeks. They are providing solutions to everything — from health and education to national security,” he said.
He said that the fourth digital transformation was taking place in the industry and service space, including agriculture. “We are using technology for clean energy transition and protection of biodiversity.”
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Modi said the last transition in the digital sector was taking place in the form of investments in the development of the indigenous capabilities in the telecom industry, such as 5G and 6G. India is also one of the leading nations in artificial intelligence and machine learning, especially in their human-centred and ethical use.”
Modi stressed that India’s space programme is vital to the country’s economy. “India has also emerged as a major centre for cybersecurity solutions. We have set up a task force with our industries to make India a global hub for cybersecurity,” he added.