New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged G20 countries on Saturday to focus on technology that can “lay the foundations for an inclusive, prosperous and secure” global digital future, as he addressed a ministerial gathering on digital economy in Bengaluru.
In video message, Modi said the Group of 20 major economies need to agree on the high-level principles, and pitched India’s experience in areas of digital governance and administration as models the world could look at.
“India is an incredibly diverse country. We have dozens of languages and hundreds of dialects. It is home to every religion in the world, and innumerable cultural practices…. With such diversity, India is an ideal testing lab for solutions. A solution that succeeds in India, can be easily applied anywhere in the world,” he said.
During the one-day meeting, delegates discussed solutions and collaborative strategies involving new technology for the global economy. Union minister for electronics and information technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said India, as the G20 president, has picked three priority areas for the Digital Economy Working Group meeting: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), security in digital economy and digital scaling.
“PM Modi believes in the democratisation of technology,” Vaishnaw said.
The discussions resonate with what has been a focus area for the government. Over the last decade, a number of government services have gone digital, with the administration saying it has helped widen citizen outreach as well as reduce costs.
“Our unique digital identity platform, Aadhaar, covers more than 1.3 billion of our people. We have used the power of the JAM trinity — Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar, and Mobile — to revolutionise financial inclusion in India,” Modi said. “Every month, nearly 10 billion transactions take place on UPI, our instant payment system. More than 45% of the global real time payments happen in India.”
These, Modi said, was part of a “transformation that is beyond imagination”. “It all started with the launch of our Digital India initiative in 2015. It is powered by our unshakeable belief in innovation. It is driven by our commitment to speedy implementation. And, it is motivated by our spirit of inclusion, leaving no one behind,” Modi said.
Over 850 million internet users in India today enjoy some of the cheapest data costs in the world, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi added.
Speaking about the future, Modi said there was a “need to develop a framework for safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence”. “We can build an entire ecosystem of technology-based solutions to address the challenges faced by humanity. All it needs from us are the four Cs – conviction, commitment, coordination and collaboration,” he added.
Digital public infrastructure has featured in India’s engagement with a wide array of global leaders, spanning almost every engagement held in recent months. In this area, Indian officials are pushing for a secure and inter-operable digital ecosystem, with the aim that it be reflected in the final communique when G20 heads of state meet during the summit in Delhi next month.
At the heart of India’s pitch is its so-called “digital stack”, which includes applications for identity, digital payments and health care solutions, and has received a good response in developing countries.
Modi in his message underlined that progress on a common framework will help create a transparent, accountable, and fair digital ecosystem for all.
He also welcomed the efforts to develop a road map to facilitate Cross Country Comparison of Digital Skills and setting up a virtual centre of excellence on digital skilling. He said these were important efforts to meet the needs of a future-ready workforce.