Modi calls technology mainstay of making India self-reliant

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called the technology a medium for empowering people and said it is the mainstay of making India self-reliant. He said the same vision is reflected in this year’s Budget.

Modi, who was addressing a webinar on “technology-enabled development” cited the expanding global market for gaming and added the Budget has focussed on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comic (AVGC).

Modi referred to an emphasis in the Budget on sunrise sectors such as artificial intelligence, geo-spatial systems, drones, semi-conductors, space technology, genomics, pharmaceuticals, and clean technologies. He added the Budget lays down a road map for the 5G spectrum auction. Modi said production-linked incentive schemes have been proposed for design-led manufacturing related to a strong 5G ecosystem. He asked the private sector to increase its efforts in this area.

“…we have to emphasise how to make maximum use of technology for the ease of living,” said Modi. He cited investments in housing, railways, airways, waterways, and optical fibres while calling for ideas about using technologies in these areas.

Modi asked the private sector to take maximum advantage of the change of rules for the use of geospatial data and the opportunities that have emerged. “The world has seen our reliability… our self-sustainability to the [Covid] vaccine production… We have to replicate this success in every sector.”

He emphasised 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. Modi referred to the Indian start-up ecosystem and assured the sector of full support.