Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted the transformative potential of technology in critical sectors such as agriculture, education, and health and emphasised the Government’s commitment to harnessing technological innovations to bridge the digital gap in rural areas to ensure inclusive development.
During his conversation with philanthropist and Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates, Modi also shared his vision of empowering rural women through access to technology and training, aiming to challenge traditional gender roles and foster economic independence. He emphasised the need for a psychological shift, where villagers feel empowered to transform their communities through technology as was done by his Government through innovative programmes like ‘Namo Drone Didi’.
“I want to give them technology in their hands and bring a psychological change. Everyone in the villages should feel that they are transforming their village,” he said adding that “he wants to allocate funds to scientists for local research in cervical cancer to develop vaccines at a minimal cost and that his new Government will work to ensure vaccination, especially for all girls”. Gates, in response, lauded India’s proactive efforts to promote technology inclusion and empower women.
The philanthropist highlighted successful collaborative initiatives between the Government and organisations like his foundation in revitalising traditional practices and promoting women’s participation in sectors such as agriculture. Gates said India brings out technology that can be made available for everyone and that helps uplift those who need it the most.
The conversation extended to leveraging technology to enhance citizen services and improve ease of living. “Earlier, there was a push for stringent compliance requirements. But I advocated and ensured simplification, and made certain that data is uploaded to cloud (storage) with shared IDs, enabling us to access necessary information directly,” Modi said.
While citing initiatives such as storing university certificates in cloud storage to reduce costs and ensure efficient access to necessary information, the Prime Minister also warned that, Artificial Intelligence (AI), should not be seen as a magic tool or as a replacement for people’s laziness to do some work.
Modi recollected how he used AI in the G20 summit for translating speeches and also his addresses in different languages in several events. A technology like ChatGPT should be used to constantly improve oneself, he added.
On data security, Modi underscored the importance of public awareness and a robust legal framework. He emphasised minimal Government intervention in citizens’ life while ensuring ample assistance for those in need, particularly the impoverished.
Highlighting advancements in the health sector, Modi discussed the integration of over two lakh health centres with top hospitals using technology to ensure quality treatment. He emphasised the democratisation of health technology, where no entity should hold a monopoly, and praised India’s CoWin platform for its role in vaccine distribution during the pandemic.
Discussing the issue of climate change, Modi made it clear that the world needs to change parameters like use of electricity or steel to define development as these were anti-climate and should instead adopt terminologies like green GDP and green employment. Recycling and reuse have been part of Indians’ nature, he said, as he pointed out that the jacket he was wearing was a recycled product.
When Gates asked if the green approach could be made more affordable for easier adoption, the Prime Minister said the world needs to adopt a two-pronged strategy: first, nature and climate-friendly innovation, and second, environmentally friendly lifestyles.
“Our current challenge is how we perceive progress. For example, a country’s development is often judged by its steel consumption and energy usage. Based on these criteria, we calculate the country’s economy,” said the Prime Minister.
“If we continue to rely on these parameters, we will consume more electricity and steel, resulting in increased carbon emissions. This means we need to change our mindset. We need to make lifestyle choices and measure progress in ways that are climate-friendly. Currently, all our measures of progress are detrimental to the climate,” he said.
On the renewable energy sector, the Prime Minister said, “Our efforts are focused on solar and wind energy. And, we are also eager to accelerate progress in the nuclear sector. Similarly, our ambitions extend to making significant progress in green hydrogen.”
