admin
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke of India’s pursuit of the principle of “power to empower” and its commitment to the democratisation of technology. Referring to India’s strong economic growth, the PM said that in a world filled with uncertainty, India offers assurance, reliability and stability, and that reforms for his government were “not a compulsion”, but its “conviction”.
Addressing the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in the national capital, the PM flagged the weaponisation of resources and trade routes, calling for greater trust and cooperation among countries facing disruptions. He said India does not grow at anyone’s cost. “We grow with the world, and for the world,” Modi said. The PM said India’s expanding economic and technological capabilities could help address global challenges amid geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions and growing competition over strategic resources. The PM’s comments come amid India and much of the Global South facing challenges to their food and energy security, the threat of sanctions and supply-chain disruptions, including those involving critical minerals. India has raised these issues at international platforms, including with the United States and China.
In his speech, the PM spoke of India as the “mother of democracy”. He said India has more than a hundred languages, nearly 80,000 registered newspapers and publications, more than a thousand satellite television channels, in excess of 500 million YouTube users and more than 500 million Instagram users. “In our country, people openly debate different issues, and citizens discuss diverse viewpoints. In the present era, one factor that has played a major role in enabling this is digital power,” he said. The PM’s comments come amid sustained protests across the country since July, including in the national capital.
Modi detailed how his government, in the last 12 years, had placed great emphasis on making mobile data affordable, which has helped students, young people and small shopkeepers in smaller towns and villages, and termed it “power to empower”. “Beyond power to control lies power to enable. Beyond power to compete lies power to collaborate. Beyond power to succeed lies power to help others succeed. And therefore, the vision with which I have come here today is: power to empower,” he said.
Speaking about India’s belief in inclusive technology, the PM said that today, technology is power. Data is power. Knowledge is power. Innovation is power. “But the real question is not who possesses power. Rather, the question is how that power is being used.” The PM referred to India’s digital payments ecosystem and its sharing of its digital public infrastructure experience with the countries of the Global South as evidence of its belief in “power to empower”. He said the number of startups in India had increased from a few hundred before 2014 to more than 250,000 now, and the country was using technology to help lift 250 million people out of poverty through direct benefit transfers. He said democratising access to technology would help new ideas emerge.
The PM spoke of the 7.8 per cent economic growth recorded in the April-June quarter, foreign-exchange reserves exceeding $700 billion and reforms spanning taxation, insolvency and labour laws as evidence of India’s resilience. “In a world filled with uncertainty, India offers the assurance of reliability and stability,” he said. “India’s reform express continues to move ahead at high speed. For us, reforms are not a compulsion. Reforms are our conviction,” he said.
On the current geopolitical situation, Modi said supply chains, energy, minerals, payment systems and technology are increasingly becoming instruments of pressure and dominance. He said many countries were facing challenges related to ageing populations. In such circumstances, the PM said the world needed more trust among countries. “Trust that promises made will also be fulfilled. Trust that a partner country will stand with you during moments of crisis,” he said. Modi had spoken of the importance of trust among countries at the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in France, with US President Donald Trump sitting next to him.
Modi spoke of India’s role as a trustworthy partner, including in supplying affordable medicines during the Covid pandemic, and as home to skilled young people who work across the world. He said whenever the world needs a steady pillar, India extends its hand in support, recognising its responsibility. “We do not grow at anyone’s cost. We grow with the world, and for the world,” he said. “Power is not just the ability to move ahead. It is also the ability to empower others to move ahead. India believes that competition is important, but compassion is equally important. Innovation is essential, but its benefits must also be widely shared. National strength is necessary, but we must also contribute solutions to global challenges,” he said.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings