Bengaluru is No 1 on India’s innovation index, home of technology: PM Modi

Bengaluru, Nov 16: Calling it number one on India's innovation index, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Bengaluru is the home of technology.

In a pre-recorded message at Bengaluru Tech Summit, the PM, who is in Bali to attend the G20 Summit, said, "Bengaluru is No 1 on India's innovation index. Bengaluru is the home of technology. It is an inclusive and innovative city,"

India's technology and innovation have already impressed the world, but the future will be much bigger than its present as it has "innovative youth and increasing tech access", the PM said.

Power of India's Youth
"The power of India's youth is known across the world. They have ensured tech globalisation and talent globalisation. Healthcare, management, finance - you will find young Indians leading many domains. We are using our talent for global good.

Even in India, their impact is being seen. India jumped to the 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index this year. In 2015, we were ranked 81! The number of unicorn start-ups in India has doubled since 2021! We are now the 3rd largest start-up hub in the world. We have over 81,000 recognised startups. There are hundreds of international companies that have R&D centres in India. This is due to India's talent pool," a statement from his office quoted him as saying.

Data Revolution in India
The Prime Minister highlighted how youths are being empowered by increasing tech access. "A mobile and data revolution is happening in the country. In the last eight years, broadband connections rose from 60 million to 810 million, smartphone users went from 150 million to 750 million. The growth of the internet is faster in rural areas than in urban areas. A new demographic is being connected to the information superhighway," he added.

He claimed that technology is not the exclusive domain of high and mighty anymore. "In India, technology is a force of equality and empowerment. The world's largest health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat provides a safety net for nearly 200 million families. It means, about 600 million people! This programme is run based on a tech platform. India ran the world's largest COVID-19 vaccine drive. It was run through a tech-based platform called COWIN. Let us go from the health sector to education," the PM stated.

Technology Used as a Weapon Against Poverty
According to PM Modi, India is using technology as a weapon in the war against poverty. Under Svamitva scheme, the country is using drones to map lands in rural areas. "Then, property cards are given to the people. This reduces land disputes. It also helps the poor to access financial services and credit. During COVID-19, many countries were struggling with a problem. They knew people needed help. They knew benefit transfers would help.

But they did not have the infrastructure to take benefits to people. But India showed how technology could be a force for the good. Our Jan Dhan Aadhar Mobile Trinity gave us the power to directly transfer benefits. Benefits went directly to authenticated and verified beneficiaries," he further added.

The 25th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 (BTS 2022) started on Wednesday.

The summit is organised by the Government of Karnataka along with Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), Karnataka government's Vision Group on Information Technology, Biotechnology and StartUp, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications.