Tech use will help India become developed nation by 2047: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Technology will help India achieve the target of becoming a developed nation by 2047, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, as he outlined the massive and modern digital infrastructure being created to ensure that benefits of digital revolution reach all citizens.

Addressing a post-Budget webinar on 'Unleashing the Potential: Ease of Living Using Technology', Modi said the government wants to reduce the cost of compliance of small businesses, and asked the industry to formulate a list of compliances that can be pruned.

"We want to reduce the compliance cost of small businesses. Can you (industry) formulate a list of unnecessary compliances that can be pruned. We have finished 40,000 compliances," Modi said.

India is creating a modern digital infrastructure, and ensuring that benefits of digital revolution reach everyone, he noted.

Technology is being used to make tax system faceless to address problems faced by taxpayers.

"We used technology to make the tax system faceless, and to address problems faced by taxpayers," he said adding technology is being leveraged to usher in a qualitative difference in the lives of Indian citizens.

He said technologies like 5G and AI (Artificial Intelligence) are leading conversations now and poised to transform areas like medicine, education, agriculture, and many other sectors.

The prime minister exhorted stakeholders to identify 10 problem areas facing the common man which can be solved using AI.

Technology formed the base of One Nation One Ration, he said adding that JAM (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile number) trinity helped in giving benefits to the poor.

He said 21st century is technology-driven, and one can't restrict it to just digital, internet technology.