CHENNAI: Former union minister Smriti Z Irani said the future of India lies in science and technology, and cautioned that social media has shifted from being a tool of democratisation to an instrument of polarisation, during a conversation titled ‘From Welfare to Development: Women in Viksit Bharat 2047’ with Prabhu Chawla, editorial director of TNIE, at the 14th edition of the ThinkEdu Conclave on Monday.
On disengaging from media while holding constitutional office, Irani said, “This was a very conscious choice to disengage from media when I had constitutional responsibility. The fact that my responsibilities in government lasted a good decade is something to reflect on, because it is very rare for somebody from the media to reach my position.”
Regarding women’s economic participation, the former union minister said she was “incredibly proud” of building platforms that position Indian women beyond rights-based conversations. “You ensure that a woman is economically robust or secure, and then we have the capacity to take care of her rights,” she said, adding that closing the economic gap was essential to protecting dignity.