Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated Tech Summit in Bengaluru via video conference. The summit is organised by the Government of Karnataka along with Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), Karnataka government’s Vision Group on Information Technology, Biotechnology & StartUp, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications.

The theme of this year’s summit is “Next is Now”. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Electronics & IT, Communications and Law & Justice and Chief Minister of Karnataka  BS Yeddyrupa were present on the occasion.

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The Prime Minister expressed happiness that today Digital India is no longer being seen as any regular Government initiative rather it has become a way of life particularly, for the poor, marginalised and for those in Government.

Addressing the Tech Summit, the Prime Minister said due to Digital India, our nation has witnessed a more human centric approach to development. He said using technology on such a large scale has brought about several changes for the citizens and the benefits are clearly visible. He said the government has not only created a market for digital and tech solutions, but also made it a key part of all schemes. He added his governance model is technology first and through technology human dignity has been enhanced like crores of farmers receiving monetary support in one click and successfully operating the world’s largest  Healthcare scheme, Ayushman Bharat. He stressed that technology ensured India’s poor received proper & quick assistance even at the peak of the lockdown. He said the scale of this relief has few parallels.

The Prime Minister said the Government has used  the power of data analytics to ensure better service delivery and efficiency. He remarked technology is the prime reason our schemes have transcended files and changed the lives of the people at such a speed and scale. He said due to technology we are able to provide electricity to all, cross toll booths faster, gives us confidence to vaccinate a large population in a short period of time.

The Prime Minister praised the tech sector for showing its resilience during this pandemic. He highlighted that the amount of tech  adoption that would not have happened in a decade, happened in just a few months. Work from anywhere has become the norm and is going to stay. He said a high amount of tech adoption will be seen  in the fields of education, health,  shopping, etc.

The Prime Minister said achievements of the industrial era are past, and now we are in the middle of the information era.He said in the industrial era, change was linear but in the information era, change is disruptive. He stressed that unlike the industrial era, first-mover does not matter, the best-mover does matter in the information era.  He said anyone can build a product any time that disrupts all existing equations of the market.

The Prime Minister said India is uniquely positioned to leap ahead in the information era. He said India has the best minds as well as the biggest market. He pointed out that our local tech solutions have the potential to go global.  He stressed that it is time for tech-solutions that are designed in India to be deployed for the world. He said the policy decisions of the Government are always aimed at liberalising the tech & innovations industry like the easing of compliance burden on the IT industry done recently. He said the Government always tries to engage with stakeholders in the tech industry and chart out future-proof policy frameworks for India.

The Prime Minister stressed that a framework-level mindset has the potential to build an eco-system of multiple successful products. He listed out the initiatives with a framework-level mindset like UPI, National Digital Health Mission, Swamitva Scheme, etc. He said technology is setting the pace for the defence sector to evolve. He stressed on the need of data  protection  as well as  cyber security with the rapid increase of tech use.  He proposed the youth can play a big role  in devising robust cyber security solutions which can effectively vaccinate digital products against cyber attacks and viruses.

The Prime Minister said the scope and need for innovation is relevant in the fields of science like bio-sciences, engineering, etc. He said Innovation is the key to progress and India has a clear advantage when it comes to innovation because of the talent of our youth and their zeal to innovate. He added the potential of our youth and possibilities of technology are endless. It is time, we give our best and leverage them. He expressed confidence that our IT sector will keep making us proud.