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Mobile technology will aid India’s Covid vaccination drive, says PM Modi
PM Modi urged the younger generation to keep innovating and also highlighted the crucial role technology played in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed technology as the building block of what is going to be the largest Covid-19 vaccination drive in India. Three leading vaccine developers - Pfizer Inc, Serum Institute of India Ltd and Bharat Biotech International Limited - have applied for emergency use authorisation in India.
“It is because of mobile technology that India will embark on one of the largest Covid-19 vaccination drives,” PM Modi said at the fourth Indian Mobile Congress.
The conference, which is a three-day event, is being attended by over 110 distinguished speakers and industry leaders from across the globe, including 30 start-ups presenting innovative and sustainable technological solutions.
The PM urged the younger generation to keep innovating and also highlighted the crucial role technology played in the handling of the pandemic.
“It is important to think and plan how we can improve our lives with the growth of technology,” PM Modi said. “It can help provide better healthcare, better education and better opportunities for our farmers. These are some of the goals we can work towards. It is due to your innovation and efforts that the world was functional despite the pandemic.”
Underscoring that India is one of the fastest growing mobile application markets in the world, the PM said, “Our youth is working on many products that have the potential to go global.”
The PM also stated that half of India’s mobile users are from rural areas.
“We are a country where the tariffs are the lowest in the world. The digital potential of India is unparalleled,” he said. “It is because of mobile technology that we could help the poor and vulnerable during the pandemic.”
The inauguration of the conference was attended by Communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister of state Communications Sanjay Dhotre, secretary Telecommunications Anshu Prakash and industry leaders such as Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani and Bharti group’s Sunil Mittal.
“Digital technology, communication tools and IT platforms have established their extraordinary worth in these challenging times,” Prasad said.
“India was united during Covid with digital technology. Covid-19 created a new opportunity, enabling people to talk, meet and share virtually,” the minister added.
Prasad further said that 85% of India’s operations are happening with the work from home model.
Dhotre highlighted how technology had helped contain the pandemic, while Prakash focused on the massive data surge during the pandemic, asserting how India’s networks had accommodated the surge easily.
“Covid-19 pandemic has shown that our networks will not fail us,” said Prakash.
