Technology has been a big enabler in transforming lives

Sunil J Singhi  
Chairman - National Traders Welfare Board, Govt. Of India 

“We all know what big role technology has played during the time of lockdown. If it was not for the virtual world, the whole system would have collapsed, education would have come to a standstill and all communication would have been blocked. Technology had a crucial role to play in the Work From Home (WFH) concept, which gained momentum during the pandemic. Right after coming to power in the Centre for the first time in 2014, the honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi spearheaded what is today known as the Digital India mission. Before 2014, India had only two mobile handset manufacturing factories; but today the country has seen that number growing beyond 200. India is today the largest consumer market for smartphones globally. There are many among us who own more than one handset. Another area that has grown considerably in the country in the last few years is digital payment. Most of the transactions today happen on the smartphone and everyone is digitally connected on it. Technology has come to connect every individual today and to think of a day without technology has now become next to impossible. The last mile connectivity of this digital infrastructure to the citizens has been so seamless in the last few years that India leads as a remarkable example for every other country today. Both the Central and the state governments have played their individual part in making this possible along with other industry bodies. Social media, though it has its limitations, has come to play a very important role in communicating important messages, ideas and policies to the common public. With the spread of the internet, people can access information on events taking place in far off places in a matter of a few seconds.”