The world is looking at India with greater hope and expectations than before, Prime Minister Modi said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the Information and Technology industry for 2 percent growth during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) Technology and Leadership (NLT) event through video conferencing, PM Modi said, "When the chips were down, your code kept the world running.”

It's commendable if India's IT industry adds $4 bn to its revenue at a time when suspicions of de-growth were being cast, PM Modi added.

He also congratulated the role played by India's tech sector in helping companies scale up to the digital challenge allowing employees to work from home during the pandemic.

"It's a time when the world is looking at India with greater hope and expectations than before. However tough may be the challenge, we should not think of ourselves as weak or move away fearing challenges. During COVID, our science and technology not only proved itself but also evolved," Prime Minister Modi further said.

The Prime Minister stressed the need for use of technology in governance. He gave examples of geo tagging of infrastructure products, houses of poor and such projects so that they can be completed on time.

He talked of the use of drones in mapping village households and reduction in human interface to improve transparency especially in tax related matters. The Prime Minister called upon the start-up founders not to restrict themselves to just valuations and exit strategies.

“Think how you can create institutions that will outlast this century. Think how you can create world class products that will set the global benchmark on excellence”, he said.

The Prime Minister also asked the tech leaders to emphasize the imprint of Make for India in their solutions. He called upon them to establish new parameters of competitiveness to maintain momentum and Indian technological leadership. He also emphasized culture of excellence and institution building.

During his address, PM Modi listed the steps taken in recent times such as National Communication Policy, policy to make India Global Software Product Hub and Other Service Provider (OSP) guidelines which were issued during Corona period. He noted that inclusion of Information services into 12 champion service sectors has started bearing fruit. Recent liberalization of maps and geo-spatial data will strengthen the tech start up ecosystem and the wider mission of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The Prime Minister emphasized that young entrepreneurs should have the freedom to leverage the new opportunities. The Government has full faith in the startup and innovators, said the Prime Minister. Steps like self-certification, use of IT solutions in Governance, data democratization through Digital India have taken the process forward.

Talking about the centrality of transparency in governance, the Prime Minister noted people’s growing trust in the government. He said that governance has been brought to the dashboard from the files for proper monitoring by the citizens. He also mentioned improvement in process and transparency in Government procurement through GeM portal.

The Prime Minister said that it is the responsibility of the tech industry to give proactive technological solutions for 21st century challenges to India. He asked them to work for solutions in water and fertilization requirements of agriculture, health and wellness, telemedicine and education and skill development. He said steps like National Education Policy and Atal Tinkering labs and Atal Incubation Centre are promoting skilling and innovation and need industry support.