With a promise to modernise India through high-speed Internet connectivity and e-governance at the grassroots level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India Week on Wednesday. While pitching for a digital revolution in the country, Modi said it will not only deal with corruption but will also help provide transparent and efficient governance and bridge the rich-poor divide.
Noting that India had lagged behind when the world went through the industrial revolution, the Prime Minister said he dreams of a “Digital India’ where Government services are easily available to citizens on mobile devices.
While outlining his vision of e-governance and mobile governance, the PM said that his Government will not allow the digital divide to become a barrier between people. “I dream of a digital India where high-speed digital highways unite the nation; 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovation; technology ensures the citizen-Government interface is incorruptible… I dream of Digital India where cyber security becomes integral part of national security…We have to move from e-governance to m-governance. M-governance does not mean Modi governance. It means Mobile governance,” Modi said.
Talking about making good use of technology, Modi elaborated how it played a big role in auction of coal mines. “So many coal mines were auctioned but there is no allegation against the Government because it was all done in a transparent manner,” said the PM at the function attended by the top industrialists, possible investors and diplomats.
In fact inspired by PM’s call, India Inc pledged more than `4.5 lakh crore investments which would lead to over 18 lakh jobs generation. Among the prominent businessmen who pledged support to Modi’s plans are Reliance Industries limited (RIl) chairman Mukesh Ambani, ADAG chairman Anil Ambani, Bharati Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal, Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry, Aditya Birla Group head Kumar Mangalam Birla, Wipro’s Azim Premji, and Vendanta’s Anil Aggarwal. Besides Bernhard Gerwert, CEO of European consortium Airbus’ Defence and Space unit; Ping Chang, CEO of Taiwanese company Delta Electronics, too were present at the function.
Mittal committed to investing `1 lakh crore in next five years in digital space. Tata Group promised to hire 60,000 IT professionals this year. Mukesh Ambani announced `2.5 lakh crore investment across digital India pillars and creating Jio Digital India start-up fund and added that he was working with device makers to make affordable devices.
Vendanta’s Anil Aggarwal will invest Rs 300-400 crore on expanding fibre and cable manufacturing capacities to cater to increased demand mainly due to the data network expansion of telecom operators and the Government’s National Optic Fibre Network project that aims to connect 2,50,000 panchayats. Anil Ambani’s ADAG will invest Rs 10,000 crore over next few years across digital, cloud and telecom space. Birla will to invest $7 bn in next 5 years in network rollout and infra and digital space and Delta CEO pledged $500 million.
Modi urged the India Inc to boost production of electronic devices and goods in the country, as part of the “Make in India” initiative, to reduce dependence on imports. He assured full support to young entrepreneurs who wished to launch start-ups and called upon the youth to innovate urging “Design in India” was as important as “Make in India”.
He said that India may have missed the Industrial Revolution, but will not miss the IT revolution. “Earlier, India was criticised for launching satellites, but now it is recognised that these satellites help the common man, for instance, farmers through accurate weather forecasting,” said the PM, adding that the Digital India initiative was aimed at improving the lives of the common man.
While highlighting the advantages of the IT, Modi said: “Clouds of a bloodless war are hovering over the world. The world is terrified by this....India has a big role to play in this. Can India play this big roleIJ India has talent. Can India provide a shield to the world by providing innovative and credible solutionsIJ Why should we not have such a confidenceIJ We should accept this challenge to ensure that the entire humanity lives in peace.”
Talking about possibilities in the IT world, he said there could be a situation wherein information could be stored in “digital lockers” with private companies offering such facilities. “India may have missed the industrial revolution, but will not miss the IT revolution,” he said, adding, “It is not enough for India to say that it is an ancient civilisation, and a country of 125 crore with favourable demography... modern technology needs to be blended with these strengths.”
The PM also unveiled the Digital India logo and released policy documents related to Digital India. He also felicitated two women village-level entrepreneurs.