After the fastest 5G rollout in the world, India is now racing towards a leadership position in 6G, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, exhorting Indians, especially young startup entrepreneurs, to lead the nation into becoming a thought leader in technology.
Pointing out how the nation missed the bus so many times in technology but is now making a mark as thought leaders in domains like ITeS, UPI, CoWin etc, PM declared how thought leadership can bring revolutionary change. “Thought leaders can create a new level which the rest of the world will later follow. I believe we can do it,” he said.
Modi was speaking at the inauguration of this year’s edition of India Mobile Congress, the nation’s biggest telecom and technology event. The event was also attended by industry bigwigs like Kumar Mangalam Birla of Vi, Sunil Bharti Mittal of Airtel and Akash Ambani of Reliance Jio, beside Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Jesingbhai Chauhan.
Commenting on India improving its global ranking in internet speeds (from No. 180 to No. 43) and the fastest 5G rollout, Modi said we should not stop until we take fast communication to every citizen in the country. He predicted that India will lead the world in the upcoming 6G technologies.
“Faster internet speeds and (newer technologies) are about improving ease of living,” he said. “It helps students learn even from a distance, patients get seamless connectivity to their doctors, help tourists reach their destination without problems, farmers get help in finding solutions. For me, this is the greatest social justice of all.”
The Prime Minister, however, warned that while India has made commendable advancement in the startup ecosystem and electronics manufacturing, we also need to focus on cyber security and network infrastructure security. “In cyber security also, Atmanirbharta is very important. When everything in the value chain is within our national domain, it is easier for us to keep our national security safe, our democratic society safe,” he said.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated 100 ‘5G Use Case Labs’ at educational institutions across the country. These labs are being developed under the ‘100 5G labs initiative’. The initiative aims to realise the opportunities associated with 5G technology by encouraging development of 5G applications which cater to India’s unique needs in areas like education, agriculture, health, power and transportation, as well as global demands. The initiative is also aimed at building a 6G-ready academic and start-up ecosystem in the country.