PM Modi addresses post-budget webinar on ‘Ease of Living using Technology’

CITY REPORTER NEWS DESK,28-Feb;Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that the government is heavily investing in technology for creating modern infrastructure, saying the benefits of Digital India must reach every section of the society. The Prime Minister was addressing a Post-Budget webinar on the theme ‘Unleashing the Potential: Ease of living using Technology’. Modi said, this year’s Union Budget has emphasised on increasing the ease of living with the help of technology.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that India of the 21st century is constantly empowering its citizens with the use of technology. He underlined that every budget in the past few years has stressed the ease of living for people with the help of technology. In this year’s budget, the Prime Minister emphasised, the priority is given to technology and a human touch.

He added that the changing India of 21st century is continuously empowering its citizens with the power of technology and people are clearly feeling this change. The Prime Minister highlighted that the government’s efforts are making lives of the poor and unprivileged, better and today people do not consider the government as an obstruction but as a catalyst for development. He asked to evaluate the good practices adopted by other countries to improve citizen services. Mr. Modi said the government’s policy interventions are now showing results.
The Prime Minister elaborated upon the role of technology in this by giving examples of One Nation One Ration Card and JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile) trinity, Arogya Setu and CoWin App, railway reservation and Common Service Centers. With these decisions, the Prime Minister said that the government has enhanced the ease of living of the citizens.

Modi stressed on the need to continuously update the Karmayogi platform and create a system to get feedback from the users. He also said several steps have been taken over the past few years to support the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The Prime Minister highlighted the equal opportunities that technology is providing to everyone and said that the government is investing heavily in technology. Along with creating modern digital infrastructure, the government is ensuring that the benefits of digital infrastructure reach everyone equally. He illustrated this by talking about the GeM portal that is giving a presence to small businessmen and even street vendors in government procurement. Similarly, e-NAM is allowing farmers to get linked with buyers at different places.

Referring to 5G and AI and their impact on industry, medicine, education and agriculture the Prime Minister emphasized the need to set a few targets. He asked about the ways through which these technologies can be deployed for the welfare of the common citizens, and the sectors to be focussed. “Can we identify 10 such problems of the society which can be solved by AI”, he said.

Giving examples of the use of technology in the government, the Prime Minister touched upon the Digilocker services for entities where companies and organizations can store their documents and also share them with government agencies. He suggested exploring ways to expand these services so that more people can benefit from them.

Highlighting the role of technology, the Prime Minister pointed out that technology can help in creating a finished product that can help in capturing the global market. He suggested that one should not limit themselves to only the internet and digital technology. Concluding the address, the Prime Minister stressed that the success of the budget or any government policy depends on how well it is prepared but also highlighted the importance of people’s cooperation. He referred to India’s talented youth, skilled manpower and willingness to adopt technology in the villages and suggested finding ways to make the most out of it. “You must discuss how to make the most out of the budget”, the Prime Minister concluded.(CNS)