By S. Ravi
New Delhi, Feb 18 : Addressing the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) Technology and Leadership (NLT) event on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while commending the role played by IT sector, exhorted them to help achieve the country greater heights.
Making India a global software hub
The PM drawing attention to the fact that India’s IT industry had made deep impact world over but could not benefit from the country’s huge domestic market. “Our experts were leading and contributing in providing services and solutions to the whole world but IT industry could not get the benefit of India’s huge domestic market. Due to this, the digital divide in India increased.” Stating that Government has changed this approach.
“The government is trying to get the tech Industry out of the shackles with unnecessary regulations. The National Digital Communication Policy was one such big effort, which was formulated to make India a Global Software Product Hub.” Mentioning the Other Service Provider (OSP) guidelines, he said, “this made it easier for you to work in new situations, your work has to face the least hindrance. Even today, more than 90 percent people are working from their homes, some from their native villages.” He said the inclusion of IT in the 12 champion service sectors will also benefit the sector.
Liberalised mapping policy
Continuing in the same vein, the PM pointed at the recent policy reform of opening the map and geo-spatial data from regulation. Describing it as an important step, he said, “This is a step that is tune with the theme of this forum — ‘Shaping the future towards a better normal’. This is a step that strengthens the broader mission of self-reliant India, not just the IT industry. I recall this issue being raised on different forums.”
Confident India
PM said this step indeed displayed the confidence of the nation in terms of security. “Earlier it was thought that if these things were opened, then security will be a problem. Today India is full of confidence, we are seeing it on the border. It is indicative that India is confident even after making these decisions, and, that we will be able to keep the country safe.”
IT praised for efforts during Covid-19
Tracing India’s progress in knowledge domain, Modi said there was a time when the country was dependent on foreign vaccines and today Corona vaccines are being supplied to several countries. “India’s knowledge science, our technology has not only proved itself, but has also evolved itself. The IT industry of India has also done wonders in this too. When the chips were down, your code kept things running. When the whole country was confined within the walls of the house, then you were running the industry smooth from home.”
Highlighting IT sector’s achievement, PM said when every sector was affected, “you achieved a growth of two per cent. Even when there were fears of de-growth, India’s IT industry added another $ 4 billion to its revenue. It is truly commendable. The IT industry has proved why it is a strong pillar of India’s development by giving millions of new jobs.”
Empowering the people
Referring to Digital India in particular, the PM said digital technology has empowered the common Indian, connecting them to the government. “Today, data has been democratized and last mile service delivery has also come into effect. Today, hundreds of government services are being delivered online. Effective use of technology in governance has brought great relief to the poor and middle class with convenience as well as weeding out corruption.” Stating that in the last four years, India had moved from being a heavily cash dependent society to a less cash society, Modi averred that this had resulted in “the sources of black money becoming less.”
Transparency in procurement
The PM said digital technology is being used in procurement too. “Procurement is being done through the Government e-marketplace, GeM, with complete transparency. Most government tenders are called online. Geo-tagging of every project, whether it is projects related to our infrastructure or homes of the poor, is being done so that they can be completed on time. Homes in the villages are being mapped with drones, the human interface is being reduced in cases related to tax as the faceless system is being developed.” Giving credit to technology, he observed, “By giving an accurate and transparent system to the common people through technology, minimum government, maximum governance is being implemented.”
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Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.