On Monday, our country culminated the ‘Azaadi ka Amrit Mohotsav’ with full fervour. PM Narendra Modi hoisted the national flag and addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort. On the occasion of India`s 76th Independence Day, he called upon the collective spirit of 130 crore citizens to work as “Team India” and make India a developed nation in the next 25 years, which he called the “Amrit Kaal”. He said, “Even if the past 75 years have been wonderful, full of various challenges and certain unfulfilled dreams, yet today when we are entering the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal’, the next 25 years are very significant for our country.”
The ‘Techade’
And expectedly enough, there was a lot of ‘Tech-talk’ in the Prime Minister’s speech. Ranging from self-reliance in the manufacturing of electronic goods to biofuel and electric vehicles, from optical fibre cables to semiconductor manufacturing, from Fintech to India`s ‘Techade’, the leadership at the helm want to bring about a revolution at the grassroots level through these technologies.
Calling this decade the ‘decade of technology’, he said, “I can foresee that India will march ahead phenomenally in this decade which is hailed as the ‘Techade’ for humanity. In the field of IT, India has become a force to reckon with. We have the competencies to contribute in this Techade.” It is noteworthy that the Atal Innovation Mission and its incubation centres are contributing to the development of startups and opening up a whole new sector for the youth.
Digital Push
As PM Modi mentioned, “This Digital India movement of developing semiconductors, entering the 5G era, spreading the network of optical fibres is not just to establish ourselves as modern and developed, but it is possible because of three intrinsic missions. The complete transformation of the education ecosystem, revolution in health infrastructure and improvement in the quality of agricultural life will be possible only through digitalisation”, it is evident that the importance of investing in the digital domain could not be emphasised more.
EVs and Drones: The Future
Talking about our energy dependence on imports, Modi called for speedy self-reliance in this domain with the help of renewables. He also underlined the importance of electric vehicles. In his words, “We have to become self-reliant in the energy sector. How long will we be dependent on others in the field of energy? We should be self-reliant in the fields of solar energy, wind energy, and various other renewable energy sources like Mission Hydrogen, biofuel and electric vehicles.”
Underlining the new employment opportunities in the form of green jobs, Modi stressed the fact that India has come up with the most progressive drone policy in the world. As it is still a relatively new and sunrise sector, drones are believed to open up a whole different world of applications in various fields. Highlighting the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI), Modi talked about the foreign capital and people coming to India due to the incentives.
Modi also called upon the private sector and the MSMEs to come forward and make sure to take our products to the world with ‘Zero Defect – Zero Effect’. “We have to dominate the world. One of the dreams of a self-reliant India is to ensure that India does not lag behind in fulfilling the needs of the world,” he stated.
Jai Anusandhaan
Adding ‘Jai Anusandhaan’ (Hail Innovation) to the clarion call of our former Prime Minister, Modi articulated, “Till today we always remember our revered Lal Bahadur Shastri ji for his inspirational clarion call of ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer). Later Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji added a new link of Jai Vigyan (Hail Science) and we gave it utmost importance. But in this new phase Amrit Kaal now it is imperative to add ‘Jai Anusandhaan’. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhaan.”
Hailing the startup culture picking up pace lately, he remarked, “Nation can take pride in the fact that four lakh Digital Entrepreneurs are being nurtured in the villages, and the rural population is becoming accustomed to benefit from all the services. Such is the power of India to become a technology hub in itself.” Reposing his utmost faith in the youth of the nation, PM Modi acknowledged the power of indigenous innovations. He said, “Today we have many success stories to show to the world – UPI-BHIM, our digital payment, our compelling position in the domain of Fintech. Today, 40 per cent of the global real-time digital financial transactions are happening in my country. India has shown innovation prowess to the world.”
Mr Modi conveyed that when all of the 130 crore people take one step ahead with a set goal and the commitment to resolve, India moves 130 steps forward. “We have to move forward with this capability. This is the first dawn of the ‘Amrit Kaal’ and we should not forget a single moment for the next 25 years. To live for the motherland each day, every moment of time and every particle of life will be our true tribute to the freedom fighters. Only then, the virtuous remembrance of all those who contributed to bringing the country to this point in the last 75 years will be of use”, he asserted.
