Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked G20 nations to build consensus on the G20 High-Level Principles for a Secure, Trusted, and Resilient Digital Economy, as a growing global digital economy will face security threats and challenges.

He was addressing the G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ Meet held in Bengaluru, via video message. He said he was happy that the G20 is creating a virtual Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository.

Progress on a Common Framework for Digital Public Infrastructure will help create a transparent, accountable and a fair digital eco-system for all, he said.

Mr Modi welcomed the G20 efforts to develop a Roadmap to Facilitate a Cross-Country Comparison of Digital Skills, along with a Virtual Centre of Excellence on Digital Skilling. These are important efforts to meet the needs of a workforce which is future-ready, he said.

He said technology has connected the world like never before. It holds the promise for inclusive and sustainable development for all. “We, in G20, have a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for an inclusive, prosperous, and secure global digital future,” he said. 

“We can advance Financial Inclusion and Productivity through Digital Public Infrastructure. We can promote the use of digital technology by farmers and small businesses. We can establish the framework to build a global digital health ecosystem,” he said. 

The Prime Minister said technology can also develop a framework for safe and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. “Indeed, we can build an entire ecosystem of technology-based solutions to address the challenges faced by humanity,” he said.

“All it needs from us are the four Cs — Conviction, Commitment, Coordination, and Collaboration. And, I have no doubt that your group will take us forward in that direction,” he said.

He said India has rich experience in digital technology because of its vast diversity and is ready to share it with the world. “We offered our CoWIN platform for global good during the Covid pandemic,” he said. 

“We have now created an online Global Public Digital Goods Repository — the India Stack. This is to ensure that no one is left behind. Especially our brothers and sisters from the Global South,” the Prime Minister said.

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure offers scalable, secure and inclusive solutions for global challenges, he said. 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.

“From ancient traditions, to the latest technologies, India has something for everyone. With such diversity, India is an ideal testing lab for solutions. A solution that succeeds in India, can be easily applied anywhere in the world,” he said.

Dwelling on the Indian scenario, he said India’s digital transformation over the last nine years is unprecedented. It started with the launch of the Digital India initiative in 2015, and was powered by “our unshakeable belief in innovation,” he said.

“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. Today, India has over 850 million internet users, enjoying some of the cheapest data costs in the world,” he said. 

“We have leveraged technology to transform Governance, to make it more efficient, inclusive, faster and transparent. Our unique digital identity platform, Aadhaar, covers more than 1.30 billion of our people. We have used the power of the JAM trinity- Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar, and Mobile- to revolutionize financial inclusion in India,” the Prime Minister said. 

“Every month, nearly 10 billion transactions take place on UPI, our instant payment system. More than 45 per cent of the global real time payments happen in India. Direct Benefits Transfer of government support is plugging leakages, and has saved over 33 billion dollars,” he said.