Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today urged scientists, technocrats and entrepreneurs to come out with new ideas and innovations to create knowledge and economic wealth for the progress of humanity and betterment of society at large.

Inaugurating the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2021 in Bengaluru, Naidu said that the ultimate goal of technology is to bring happiness in life. There should be development of technologies that address people’s pressing problems and make their lives happier and comfortable, he said.

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Acknowledging the recent technological disruptions in many areas, the Vice President stressed that the real potential of technology can be unleashed when there are significant improvements in sectors such as agriculture, education, healthcare, governance and climate change.

Urging the Bengaluru Tech Summit participants to bestow greater attention on agriculture, he called for adopting smart agro-tech solutions such as precision agriculture, online marketplaces and artificial intelligence in agriculture to help improve farm productivity and incomes.

Expressing concern over the adverse impact of climate change on agriculture, the Vice President called for technological solutions for this challenge.

He praised the Government for its focus on transforming the governance systems through use of technology and said that digitization of processes had helped in better delivery of the services to the people.

Reiterating the age-old Indian philosophy of ‘share and care’, Naidu hoped that the participants in the Summit will share and discuss their ideas, experiences and innovations for the larger good of humanity and world.

Referring to the Prime Minister’s three-word mantra – Reform, Perform and Transform, the Vice President suggested that in the coming days, the focus should be on creating a knowledge economy, along with digitalization and innovation.

The Vice President thanked Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett for joining the BTS-2021 through video conferencing.

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, State Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, senior government officials, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators from across the world attended the event in virtual and physical mode.