Information Technology and youth are India's two major assets, says PM Modi

Information technology (IT) and youth are India’s two major assets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, while allaying fears of job loss due to technological development, a financial website reported.
 
He said the ‘4th Industrial Revolution’ will change the nature of jobs and provide more opportunities, adding that his government was open to policy changes to help reap benefits of the revolution.
 
At the launch of World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Prime Minister said the launch in India — after San Francisco, Tokyo and Beijing — opens up doors to immense possibilities in the country.

 

“Our diversity, our demographic potential, fast-growing market size and digital infrastructure has potential to make India a global hub for research and implementation,” he said.
 
While the previous industrial revolutions eluded the country, India’s contribution to the 4th Industrial Revolution would be astonishing, he said.
 
“India was not independent when the first and second industrial revolution happened. When third industrial revolution happened, India was struggling with challenges of just attained independence,” he said.
 
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, blockchain and big data hold potential to take India to new heights, the Prime Minister said.

 
Reeling out the achievements of his government, Modi said teledensity has increased to 93 per cent and nearly 500 million Indians now have mobiles.
 
India is the largest mobile data consuming country in the world and also the one with the cheapest data rates, he said, adding mobile data consumption has increased 30 times in four years.
 
Over 1.2 billion Indians have Aadhaar, he said, adding work to connect all the 2,50,000 village panchayats with optic fibre would be completed soon.
 
In 2014, only 59 panchayats were connected with optic fibre while the number now stands at 100,000, Modi said.

 
The World Economic Forum on Thursday announced its new Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in India, which would aim to bring together the government and business leaders to pilot emerging technology policies.
 
Geneva-based WEF, which describes itself as an international organisation for public-private cooperation, said the new centre will work in collaboration with the government on a national level to co-design new policy frameworks and protocols for emerging technology alongside leaders from business, academia, start-ups and international organisations.