Jan Dhan, Aadhaar & mobile phones revolutionised financial transactions: PM Modi at G20 Digital Economy Ministers' meet
New Delhi, August 19
Three days after the Union Cabinet approved expansion of the Digital India programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the G20 ‘Digital Economy Ministers’ meet on Saturday said India’s digital transformation is powered by its unshakeable belief in innovation and its commitment to speedy implementation.
The meet is being conducted at Bengaluru and Modi addressed it via a video message.
There is no better place than Bengaluru to discuss the digital economy, Modi said, adding that India was leveraging technology to transform governance and make it more efficient, inclusive, faster and transparent.
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure offers scalable, secure and inclusive solutions for global challenges, he said.
It is important to build consensus on the G20 high-level principles for a secure, trusted and resilient digital economy, he added.
The Prime Minister credited the launch of the Digital India initiative in 2015 for the unprecedented digital transformation that has taken place in India over the last nine years. He underlined that India’s digital transformation is powered by its unshakeable belief in innovation and its commitment to speedy implementation while also being motivated by the spirit of inclusion where no one is left behind.
Highlighting the scale, speed and scope of this transformation, the Prime Minister mentioned India’s 850 million internet users who enjoy some of the cheapest data costs in the world.
He gave the example of Aadhaar – India’s unique digital identity platform covering more than 1.3 billion people. He mentioned the JAM trinity – Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar and mobile phones that have revolutionised financial inclusion and the UPI payment system where nearly 10 billion transactions take place every month. The PM said, “Around 45 per cent of the global real-time payments happen in India.”
Modi also touched upon the Gati-Shakti platform that uses technology and spatial planning to map infrastructure and logistics, thereby assisting in planning, reducing costs and increasing the speed of delivery.
Noting the incredible diversity of the country, the Prime Minister said India has dozens of languages and hundreds of dialects. He further added that it is home to every religion and innumerable cultural practices from around the world. “From ancient traditions to the latest technologies, India has something for everyone,” the Prime Minister asserted.
With such diversity, he said, India is an ideal testing lab for solutions. He underlined that a solution which succeeds in India can be easily applied anywhere in the world. The Prime Minister made evident that India is ready to share its experiences with the world and gave the example of the CoWIN platform being offered for global good during the Covid pandemic.
Technology, Modi said, has connected us like never before. It holds the promise of inclusive and sustainable development for all.
He suggested promoting the use of digital technology by farmers and small businesses, establishing the framework to build a global digital health ecosystem, and developing a framework for the safe and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence.
Modi said an entire ecosystem of technology-based solutions can be built to address the challenges faced by humanity. “All it needs from us are the four Cs – Conviction, Commitment, Coordination and Collaboration.”
