Growth of technology and innovation in the country will be driven by the innovative youth and increasing tech access in the nation, PM Modi said, on Wednesday. He also hailed Bengaluru as the home of technology and thought leadership. He was speaking at the Bengaluru Tech Summit, on Wednesday, virtually.
“India’s technology and innovation have already impressed the world but the future will be much bigger than our present because India has innovative youth and increasing tech access,” Modi said in his inaugural address of the summit.
He noted that the power of India’s youth is known across the world and has ensured talent globalisation. One will find young Indians leading various domains, such as healthcare, management, and finance. The impact of this has been seen in the innovation index as India has jumped to 40th position in 2022 from 81st position in 2015, Modi added.
The Prime Minister also noted the boom of start-ups and R&D centres in India and attributed the growth to India’s youth. “We are now the third largest start-up hub in the world with around 41000 recognized start-ups. There are hundreds of international companies that have R&D centres in India, this is due to India’s talent pool. Indian youth are being empowered by increasing tech access,” he said.
Modi also mentioned the data revolution happening in the country and noted that in the last 8 years, broadband connections have grown from 60 million to 810 million, and smartphone users went from 150 million to 750 million. “Our new demographic is connected to the information super highway. India has shown how to democratize technology, it has given it a human touch. In India, technology is a force of equality and empowerment,” he hailed.
He also mentioned the innovation bought by the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme, and the success of the tech-based platform, COWIN launched during Covid-19. He also said technology is used as a weapon in the war against poverty and talked about the Svamitva scheme. He also talked about the ease bought on by Gathi Shakti Yojana.