Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that over 850 million internet users in India enjoy some of the cheapest data costs in the world and technology has transformed governance to be more efficient, inclusive, faster and transparent.
Addressing the G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ meeting in Bengaluru via video conferencing, PM Modi also said that the launch of the Digital India initiative in 2015 has transformed India over the last nine years.
“It all started with the launch of our Digital India initiative in 2015. It is powered by our unshakeable belief in innovation. It is driven by our commitment to speedy implementation. And, it is motivated by our spirit of inclusion, leaving no one behind. The scale, speed and scope of this transformation is beyond imagination,” Modi said.
On India’s Covid vaccination drive, Modi said that the CoWin portal helped in the delivery of over 2 billion vaccine doses along with digitally verifiable certificates.
He added, “Our unique digital identity platform, Aadhaar, covers more than 1.3 billion of our people. We have used the power of the JAM trinity- Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar, and Mobile- to revolutionise financial inclusion in India. Every month, nearly 10 billion transactions take place on UPI, our instant payment system. More than 45% of the global real-time payments happen in India.”
He noted that the focus on inclusive and sustainable development, particularly through digital technology, can drive financial inclusion for small businesses, contributing to economic growth and resilience.
{{/usCountry}}He noted that the focus on inclusive and sustainable development, particularly through digital technology, can drive financial inclusion for small businesses, contributing to economic growth and resilience.
{{/usCountry}}Modi also emphasised that fully digitised taxation systems are promoting transparency and e-governance. “We are building Bhashini, an AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered language translation platform. It will support digital inclusion in all the diverse languages of India,” he added.
The Prime Minister emphasised that we should develop a framework for safe and responsible use of AI. “We can build an entire ecosystem of technology-based solutions to address the challenges faced by humanity. All it needs from us are the four C’s - Conviction, Commitment, Coordination, and Collaboration”, Modi said.
The Prime Minister also said that India’s Digital public infrastructure offers scalable, secure and inclusive solutions for global challenges. “India is an incredibly diverse country. We have dozens of languages and hundreds of dialects. It is home to every religion in the world, and innumerable cultural practices,” he said.