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NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi has described technology as a means to ‘discover, learn, evolve and implement’ He shared his thoughts during the Digital Dialogue, in which we has talked extensively on technology, what it means to him and the way ahead.

“It (technology) combines 3Ss- speed, simplicity and service. Technology is fast, technology is simple and technology is a brilliant way to serve people. It is also a great teacher. The more we learn about technology and the more we learn through technology, the better it is”. Technology empowers the less empowered. If there is a strong force that bring a change in the lives of those on the margins it is technology”

On the Digital India initiative

The entire Nation has joined hands to make the dream of a Digital India into a reality. Youngsters are enthusiastic, industry is supportive and the government is proactive. India is yearning for a digital revolution.

The investment committed by industry towards a Digital India indicates their optimism and the positive effects will be felt for generations. Most notably, several job opportunities will be created for our people.

On social media:

The future belongs to social media. It is egalitarian and inclusive. Social media is not about any country, any language, any colour, any community but it is about human values and that is the underlying link binding humanity

PM on mobile governance:

M-governance is empowered governance. It has the potential to make development a truly inclusive and comprehensive mass movement. It puts governance into everyone’s reach. It puts governance in your hands 24/7.”

On startups:

Startups are the engines of exponential growth, manifesting the power of innovation. Several big companies today are startups of yesterday.

We want India to emerge as the Innovation Hub where the next big ideas emerge, driven by the power of technology.

On Saturday 4th July the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Tweeted that he would be having a Digital Dialogue with Tech Enthusiasts. He urged people to share their views using #DigitalDialogue. The response to his Tweets has been phenomenal. Several Tweets and Posts have been shared. At the same time, letters from the previous ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on technology and digital India were referred.

Excerpts From Text of the dialogue:

A very common question across social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)- The Digital India week has been launched. Has the response been encouraging and up to your expectations?

When the Digital India initiative was launched, the fervour was unimaginable and unprecedented. The investment committed by industry towards a Digital India indicates their optimism and the positive effects will be felt for generations. Most notably, several job opportunities will be created for our people.

Never before has something been planned at such a large scale. I want to add that this dream will be fulfilled not by the Central Government or the private sector alone. Everybody (Centre, State Governments, organisations, corporates, people) has to come together and is working towards a digital India.

Several people wrote to me asking how Digital India will touch their lives. They shared ideas for citizen-centric services from the national till the Panchayat level. @RishiBagree highlighted an App on waste management. @rangats and @kumawatraj have talked about PDS improvement and electronic ration cards.

I want to tell everyone – our quest for a Digital India is all encompassing. It is going to touch your lives in several ways, making it easier. For instance, the Digital Locker and e-Sign will manage all key documents with ease and efficiency. Documents can be accessed at a click and that too without being inconvenienced. Take healthcare- eHospital would mean no more wasting time standing in hospital lines.

Instead, there is online registration for appointment, online payment and online reports. @microrao asked me about an online portal where information and prices of drugs and medicine will be made available. He will be happy to know that DeitY is actively working on this. The National Scholarship Portal brings together all scholarship schemes under a single application form. Thus, you will have one convenient platform to search the right scholarship, filling several forms and tracking their progress.

The real strength of these initiatives will come when they are extensively used. More usage will enable them to become mature and world class. That is why, I urge everyone to use these innovative services as much as possible. For instance, think of paying the salary of your support staff from your mobile to their Jan Dhan accounts. Similarly, keep using these services in as many ways as possible.

@BGMahesh (BG Mahesh) asked – what is your tech routine. In what ways in technology a part of your life.

This is a question many people ask me when I meet them. They ask me about technology, what mobile phone I use, how often I check my mail.

Technology for me is- discover, learn, evolve and implement. It combines 3Ss- speed, simplicity and service. Technology is fast, technology is simple and technology is a brilliant way to serve people. It is also a great teacher. The more we learn about technology and the more we learn through technology, the better it is.

Technology enthuses the world. I see technology as this vast ocean whose small droplets I have been able to touch upon. Ofcourse, I want to know more and more about latest technology but due to my schedule it becomes very tough.

Yet, I am a curious mind when it comes to anything that facilitates public good and so, I try to learn more and more about how technology can ensure public good. I keep thinking about it and try to know as much more as possible.

Like any common person, I scan my mails and try to be as regular in correspondence (by my own standards I am still slow). Technology makes access to information a lot faster. I am able to access news on the go. I may be travelling in the hills, in the Northeast of in interior Chhattisgarh but thanks to technology I am abreast with what is happening.

I have been using technology for my work right from the days when I was doing party work. As a Chief Minister I made attempts to integrate technology in the working of the government and my efforts to do the same continue in Delhi. A few months ago we launched PRAGATI, a technology based multi-purpose and multi-nodal platform where projects are monitored and people’s problems are addressed.

On the last Wednesday of every month, I sit down with top officials during the PRAGATI sessions and we cover substantial ground in a wide range of sectors. We are already seeing the difference this can make.

Technology transforms people’s lives. From mitigating poverty to simplifying processes, ending corruption to providing better services, Technology is omnipresent. It has become the single-most important instrument of human progress.

Technology is here to stay. The future of technology lies in its humanization. Technology on a day-to-day basis is getting adaptive to human emotions, preferences and choices. To me technology used wisely is a catalyst to magically transforming the way we live.

@ramyavenugopal (Ramya Venugopal) asked- You are active on ‪@LinkedIn‬ with a vibrant following. How has social media helped u connect better with people?

A great example is the recent #SelfieWithDaughter trend. Through social media I read about this initiative in a district in Haryana and I thought I must talk about it during my ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and ask parents to share selfies with their daughters on social media. The rest is history. Worldwide and in India this became a trend. People from Africa, Europe, the Americas, South Asian neighbours shared selfies taken with their daughters.

When people were sharing selfies, they were not responding to the call of a Prime Minister, it was a connect between humans for a cause that is important for all of us and has resonance across the globe.

On Yoga Day the world could see what is happening all over due to social media. Physical distance was rendered irrelevant. Similarly, during the previous ‘Mann Ki Baat’ I asked people to share glimpses of #IncredibleIndia and I got lakhs of responses.

One Vietnamese person shared his memories of India and I got an opportunity to talk to that person on Twitter. When a group of friends decided to clean the Ghats in Varanasi it created waves across the world. If this doesn’t indicate something then what does?

My being on social media has enriched me in many ways. After a long day at work, I log on to social media and it is very very refreshing. I am active on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Instagram. It gives me a pulse of what people think. I get a lot of feedback. For example, someone tweeted to me that during one of the speeches I spoke too fast. It acts as a mirror for all of us in our otherwise very busy lives.

I am a firm believer in the use of social media. It has given voice to the common man. This is an empowering platform and it should be used as positively and creatively as possible. That is when you will understand the power of that medium and you will be able to make a difference.

Narayan Reddy from Andhra Pradesh wrote: There is a sense that technology further empowers those who are already empowered. How can technology change the lives of people on the margins? @RupamG (Rupam Ghatak) asks – rural India needs better internet penetration, how can digital India achieve that?

Technology empowers the less empowered. If there is a strong force that bring a change in the lives of those on the margins it is technology. It serves as a leveler and a springboard.

Take for instance the farmer. Technology can make agriculture productive, prosperous and profitable. We have seen this worldwide. I was happy to know that crores of Indian farmers have been receiving agriculture related information trough SMS.

Just recently, the Cabinet cleared the Scheme of Promotion of National Agriculture Market through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund. 585 regulated markets across India will be integrated with common e-platform. Farmers and traders can get opportunities to purchase and sell agricultural commodities at optimal prices in a transparent manner.

When a person can call for an auto rickshaw from the mobile yes, it makes life convenient for him or her but imagine the difference it makes in the auto driver’s life. Due to technology things like railway tickets have become easier to obtain. No need to take a day off from work and stand in line.

Small entrepreneurs not having abundant capital, get a chance to create value, through technology. Our handicraft workers who were dependent on seasonal tourist flow, can now sell their products across the world with a single click. Aggregators of various kinds have given a fresh lease of life to thousands of people across our country. Be it retail, tourism, transport, food industry, technology has given a new platform to thousands of people, most of who are on the margins.

I want to share a small story. As CM, I went to a tribal area of Kaprada in Valsad district for inaugurating a chilling centre in a dairy. Since there was less space to conduct a meeting at the centre itself, the programme was held 3 km away on a school’s ground. Some 30-40 tribal women, who collect milk, were present at the venue. While returning from the venue after the function, I saw nearly three-fourth of the women clicking photos from their mobiles.

I asked “What will you do after clicking these photos from your mobile phones?” They said we will get the photographs transferred to a computer and later get the printouts. These are women who never attended school or college where they could learn what to do with photographs clicked with a mobile. But they know that the photo can be transferred to a computer and later be collected in the form of a printout from the computer. I was amazed. This is how technology has reached out to people on its own even at the margins.

Shaili Chopra- As a digital entrepreneur I would like to know how does technology and India’s demographic dividend converge, especially for young women?

I think this is a natural convergence and India is the natural place for such a convergence. Yes, many parts of the world have technology but no other nation is blessed with a demographic dividend like ours. India offers the complete package.

The industrial revolution may have come late to India, but we are going strong in the current start-up revolution. I am told that we are currently the 4th largest startup ecosystem in the world and soon we are poised to be 2nd, only after USA. And the best part is- this is driven by the youth. This is drawing the interest of the world and has energized people across India. This is convergence for you.

Exuberance and Talent of our youth is finding an outlet of expression through technology. This is not only driven by demand side dynamics but is well complemented by our supply side potential as well. Hence technology is serving as a connecting bridge between our ever expanding consumer market and our demographic dividend. Here, I want to point to our MyGov experience. It gives people the opportunity to contribute to Nation building through technology.

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