India is among the most open economies in the world: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India is among the most open economies in the world. He was interacting with the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai through video conferencing yesterday. The Prime Minister said that Indians are adjusting to and adopting technology at a rapid pace.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Pichai spoke on a wide range of subjects, particularly leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India’s farmers, youngsters and entrepreneurs. Mr. Modi also spoke about the recent steps taken by the government towards reforming agriculture and creating new job opportunities.

The Prime Minister explored the idea of virtual labs that can be used by students as well as farmers. On issue of data security and cyber safety, he said, tech companies need to put in efforts to bridge the trust deficit. Technological solutions to expand the scope of online education, access to technology in native language, use of augmented reality and virtual reality to give a stadium-like viewing experience in sports and progress in the area of digital payments were also discussed.

The Prime Minister said, he was delighted to know more about the efforts of Google in several sectors, be it in education, learning, digital payments and more. Sundar Pichai briefed the Prime Minister about new products and initiatives of Google in India.

He mentioned the launch of Artificial Intelligence Research Lab in Bengaluru while highlighting the benefits of Google’s flood forecasting efforts. Mr. Pichai also briefed about the efforts undertaken by Google in spreading awareness and providing reliable information about COVID-19.

He said, a strong step of lockdown initiated by the Prime Minister set up a very strong foundation of India’s battle against the pandemic. Mr. Modi appreciated the proactive role played by Google in battling misinformation and conveying information about necessary precautions.