Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US and interaction with CEOs of major technology companies will provide a big push for the Digitial India drive with the likes of Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Qualcomm and Tesla committing their support, M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development, has said.
Addressing a press conference here today, he said, “If the Opposition extends constructive support to certain legislations, the pace of Indian economy can move much faster thereby creating lakhs of jobs for aspiring youth.”
Appealing to the Opposition parties, he said, “Come together and seize the opportunity to take the economy to further heights.”
While various global economies and Chinese economy are slowing down, India presents plenty of opportunities for growth. It’s high time for the Government and Opposition to work together where the latter has an important role in accelerating the economy, he explained.
He described the Modi’s visit to the US as a milestone and the world sees him as a “reformer, performer and transformer''.
Naidu said Google has agreed to help India set up base for free Internet broadband through hotspots across 500 railway stations, Microsoft would provide low-cost broadband technology to five lakh villages and chipmaker Qualcomm has expressed intent to invest $ 150 million for India start-ups in the mobile and Internet-of-everything.
While Testla has evinced interest in sharing its revolutionary battery technology that could be useful for the growing solar energy segment, Apple has promised to set up a manufacturing base in India. During the interaction with Facebook, the social media major has agreed to start wifi-hotspots in the country.
When all these initiatives come together, it would provide a big push for the Digital India drive, he said.
The Digital India project that aims to bridge the digital divide and promote digital literacy would rely on the concept of mobile governance to make development a truly inclusive and comprehensive mass movement .
“The idea of providing Internet access is to touch the lives of the weakest, farthest and the poorest citizen of India as also change the way our nation will function and people live,” he said.
In barely five months, the Minister said the Modi Government has managed to facilitate the opening up of 18 crore bank accounts and launched various social security initiatives, including Atal Bhima Yojana. Now the Prime Minister is pitching for the Digital India and Make in India drive which global investors are keenly watching, he said.