Through Digital India, the country has exemplified how revolutionary the correct use of technology is for the growth of humanity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. Inaugurating the Digital India Week 2022 in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, Modi claimed that India has eliminated all queues by going online to provide different services.
The prime minister said India is guiding the world in the fourth industrial revolution. “With the passage of time, the country which does not adopt modern technology, time moves ahead leaving it behind. India was a victim of this during the Third Industrial Revolution. But today we can proudly say that India is guiding the world in the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0,” he said.
Praising the role of digital technology in changing the lives of people of the country, Modi said: “Eight to 10 years ago, we had to stand in lines (queues) for everything. We had to stand in line for birth certificates, to pay bills, for ration, for admission, for exam results, for certificates, in banks. How many lines we used to stand in? India has eliminated all lines by going online.”
He also claimed that under the Direct Benefit Transfer, more than 23 lakh crore rupees have been directly transferred in the accounts of the beneficiaries, in the last 8 years. ”Due to this technology, 2 lakh 23 thousand crore rupees of the country have been saved from falling into the wrong hands”.
Claiming that Digital India has brought the government to the doorsteps and phones of the citizens, the prime minister said more than 1.25 lakh common service centres and grameen stores are now taking e-commerce to rural India.
He further asserted that the power that Digital India has created in the country in the last eight years has helped India a lot in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have transferred thousands of crores of rupees to the bank accounts of crores of women, farmers, labourers of the country at a single click. With the help of One Nation One Ration Card, we have ensured free ration to more than 80 crore countrymen. We have run the world's largest and most efficient covid vaccination and covid relief program. Through our Cowin platform about 200 vaccine doses have been administered and certificates given,” Modi said.
The prime minister noted that the FinTech endeavour has made all transactions easy for the people. ”Forty per cent of digital transection at global level takes place in India," he said, adding that “There is scale, security and democratic values in our digital solutions."