“PM Modi Highlights India’s Digital Transformation and Global Collaboration at G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meet”
Speaking at the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meet held in Bengaluru, Karnataka on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spotlighted India’s digital transformation and its dedication to comprehensive digital development. The event, graced by dignitaries from around the world, provided a platform for deliberations on the future of the digital economy.
Prime Minister Modi extended a warm welcome to the attendees, accentuating Bengaluru’s stature as a nucleus for science, technology, and entrepreneurship, stating, “For discussing the digital economy, there’s no better place than Bengaluru.” He praised India’s odyssey of digitalization, initiated with the inception of the Digital India initiative in 2015.
He ascribed this evolution to innovation, swift execution, and a spirit of inclusivity, affirming that “the magnitude, velocity, and expanse of this transformation surpasses imagination.” With more than 850 million internet users, groundbreaking endeavors like Aadhaar – spanning over 1.3 billion citizens, Jan Dhan bank accounts, and the Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trifecta reshaping financial inclusion, alongside nearly 10 billion monthly transactions on the UPI instant payment system, and over 45 percent of global real-time payments occurring in India.
Highlighting the CoWIN portal’s role in the Covid vaccination campaign, the Gati-Shakti platform for infrastructure and logistics, the Government e-Marketplace for transparent procurement, the Open Network for Digital Commerce democratizing e-Commerce, digitized taxation systems fostering transparency and e-governance, and the upcoming AI-powered language translation platform, Bhashini.
Prime Minister Modi emphasized that India’s diverse landscape positions it as an ideal testing ground for scalable, secure, and comprehensive solutions that can benefit the global community. He proudly announced the formation of the India Stack, a virtual Global Public Digital Goods Repository, to ensure inclusivity, especially for nations in the Global South.
Addressing the international delegates, he expressed support for establishing a G20 virtual Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository, formulating a Common Framework for Digital Public Infrastructure, and initiatives to enable cross-country comparisons of digital skills. He also welcomed the proposition of a Virtual Centre of Excellence for Digital Skilling.
Given the global expansion of the digital economy, Prime Minister Modi urged the G20 to concentrate on devising high-level principles for a secure, reliable, and resilient digital economy to counter emerging security threats and challenges.
In conclusion, he underscored technology’s potential to unite the world and foster comprehensive and sustainable development. He called for “Conviction, Commitment, Coordination, and Collaboration” to construct a global ecosystem of technology-driven solutions to address the challenges of humanity.
Prime Minister Modi’s discourse at the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meet reinforced India’s commitment to shaping an affluent and all-inclusive global digital future through innovation and collaboration.