HYDERABAD: India’s mobile phone data is more than that of the United States of America and China put together, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Friday while stressing on the unprecedented spike in data that the country has been creating in the recent times.
“Every Indian has a biometric, a mobile phone and a bank account. As a consequence of this, what is happening today in India is that the country is creating data that we have never seen before,” Kant said while inaugurating the new facility of Micron Technology Inc here on Friday. “Our mobile data itself is more than the mobile data of the United States and China put together. That is happening because of the cost of data in the country today. It is 1/10th the cost of data in the United Kingdom and 1/20th of the United States,” Kant said.
The other reason compounding to the data creation is the shift to digital in public processes. “If you do a detailed analysis of what is happening, 99.8 per cent of Indians pay direct taxes online. In the government, the public management system is all digital. So is the direct benefit transfer which handles the 600 schemes of the Central government,” the NITI Aayog CEO said while citing the example of Ayushman Bharat health scheme whose processes are also digital.
All praise for KTR
Meanwhile, the NITI Aayog CEO hailed Hyderabad as the best destination for the industries and innovations and Minister KT Rama Rao as ‘one of the most dynamic minster’ of the country.
“There cannot be a better destination than Hyderabad. Just about every good company of the world operates from Hyderabad,” Kant said. “Hyderabad has a unique ecosystem. It has an IIT and IIIT, and it has the best-skilled manpower in the world.”
Kant also profusely praised IT and Industries Minister Rama Rao. “I hold KT Rama Rao in the greatest of regards and the greatest of admiration. Because he is one of our most dynamic ministers. I was very fortunate to work with him and he believes in the spirit of partnership and handholding, being a facilitator and a catalyst. I don’t think you will get a better host than him anywhere in the world.”
Addressing top honchos of Micron who were present at the event, he said, “Micron may be present in 18 different countries of the world, but its future lies in India and its future lies in Hyderabad. To the Board of Director, the future of Micron lies in India, if you want to increase your valuation from $25 bn to $50 bn and go from being the fourth largest in the world to the largest.”