BENGALURU: Delivering a motto to young scientists and innovators of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted how technology has helped his government deliver timely services to the people.
Inaugurating the 107th Indian Science Congress at the University of Agricultural Sciences at its GKVK Campus in Bengaluru, Modi said he had a motto for the scientists of today: innovate, patent, produce and prosper. “These four strengths will lead our country towards faster development. If we innovate, we will patent; if we patent, that, in turn, will make our production smoother; and when we take our production to the people, you will prosper,” he said.
He, however, advised the scientists not to just look at their career and progress but to link those to the development and progress of the country. “New India needs not just technology but also a logical temperament so that we can give a new direction to our social and economic sectors.”
He said science and technology provides a level playing field in making opportunities accessible to all and that it also plays a unifying role in the society.
The Prime Minister said, “Now the developments in information and communication technology are able to provide cheaper, smartphones and cheaper data, and that has made it accessible to everyone in the country, whereas it was seen as a privilege of the few earlier. This made the common man now believe that he is not distantly separated from the Government. Now he can directly connect with the Government and make his voice heard.”
Modi also exhorted the young scientists to work in the field of rural development where there are several opportunities for cheaper and better innovations.
Technology helped in good governance
Referring to the theme of 107th ISC - “Science and Technology: Rural Development”, the PM said it is only due to science and technology, that government programmes have reached the needy.
He said technology was being harnessed on a large scale to achieve the objective of good governance. “Yesterday our government was able to release instalment under the PM-KISAN programme to 6 crore beneficiaries simultaneously. This could be a record of so many farmers benefiting in one go. This was possible only due to the Aadhaar enabled technology,” he said.
Similarly, it was technology which helped in building toilets and providing electricity to the poor. He said that owing to the technology of Geo Tagging and Data Science, many of the projects in rural and urban areas could be timely completed.
Prime Minister said, “We are continuing our efforts to ensure 'ease of doing science' and effectively using information technology to reduce red tape.”
Emphasizing on that digitalisation, eCommerce, Internet Banking and Mobile Banking services are assisting rural population significantly, PM said that Technology can be harnessed for several rural development initiatives, particularly in the area of cost effective Agriculture and Farm to Consumer supply chain network.
He urged everyone to find technological solutions for - stalk burning, maintenance of Ground water tables, prevention of communicable diseases, environment friendly transportation etc. He emphasized that Science and technology has a major role in contributing towards making India a $5 Trillion Economy.
He highlighted that India now stands at 3rd position globally, in the number of peer-reviewed science and engineering publications. “I have been told that India has climbed to third position globally in the number of peer reviewed science and engineering publications. It is growing at a rate of about 10% as compared to global average of 4%,” he said.
He said India’s ranking at the Innovation Index had improved to 52 and claimed that government programmes had created more incubators in the last five years than in the previous 50 years.