Teleconsultation is creating miracles: 10 crore people benefited

- Author: Ashwini Vaishnav

- Medical treatment in remote villages on e Sanjeev's app: India has moved towards a complete digital transformation

- Maximize use of digital infrastructure for Prime Minister Modi's visionary Ease of Living

-; Supply to other states also from One Nation One Ration Card

; Maximum use of technology for a self-reliant India

Vaccination of 220 crores with COWIN technology

- ; QR; Use of quick response codes even on small shops

; 120 crore small companies joined MSME startups

; Transactions on UPI in just two seconds: 105 trillion per year

Until a few years ago, technology was thought to be the prerogative of the city's elite. People living in villages could not afford internet. Until 2014, only 25 crore Indians were using the internet, compared to which the number of people using the internet has increased to 84 crore in 2022. Earlier, 1 GB of data cost around Rs.300. Now as the price has come down to Rs. 1G data is available in 13.5, so internet has become affordable for everyone. Here's a picture of how Prime Minister Modi is driving inclusiveness through technology in the new India.

Pandemic was a testing time and Digital India could mitigate the impact of this disruption. The affordable rate of internet increases the accessibility of services. When education in schools went online during the pandemic, Suhani Sahu, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur, learned her course syllabus online through the Deeksha platform.

Shubham Kumar, a resident of a village in East Champaran, Bihar, ensured continuous treatment for his ailing mother by getting teleconsultation from a doctor on e-SanjeevanIP, saving travel time and expenses as well. So far more than 10 crore such teleconsultations have been done.

Taxi driver Hari Ram, a resident of Dehradun, had a ration card from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh. With the help of 'One Nation One Ration Card' they were able to get food supplies even in Dehradun.

India Post's rural postal workers have also provided financial service support to people in the remotest parts of the country at their doorsteps using the Aadhaar enabled payment system (AePS).

Prime Minister Modi's emphasis on transforming technology into a tool for poverty alleviation and using it to improve ease of living has benefited the vast masses of India.

The era of digital technology has arrived. It has become an integral part of our life. Sixth, AI, 5G and quantum technologies have matured to a level where they are becoming mainstream.

Due to this, the year 2023 has in a way become a phase of change or a new turning point. At this exciting time, India has assumed the chairmanship of G-20. Self-reliant India is ready to showcase it to the world with the ideology of using technology to do better.

'Today, people see government as an obstacle; Instead, people see our government as a catalyst for new opportunities. Certainly, technology has played a big role in this.' - Prime Minister Modi

These words of Prime Minister Modi have echoed across the country and this vision-based transformation is visible in every corner of India.

India has moved towards a complete digital transformation. India focused on creating a public digital platform, which is open source and accessible to everyone and is widely and digital from the start.

This is how CoWIN was built. The entire process from vaccine manufacturers, clinics, hospitals, citizen registration and scheduling to final certification of vaccination is digital. This enabled India to administer 150 crore doses in the first 12 months. Now India has given about 220 crore doses. Today, CoWIN has become a ground-breaking example of the democratization of digital technology.

It is no coincidence that India has shown a unique way of using technology for the benefit of society. Today, street fairs, vegetable stands, small shops to large showrooms all over India have QR (Quick Response) code stickers for digital payments.

It is now an everyday sight to see payment QR codes for scanning at small roadside tea stalls, hot tea and even snack lorries.

Using public funding, we have created a platform where banks, insurance companies, e-commerce companies, MSMEs, startups and most importantly, 120 crore people have joined. In this public-private partnership, no single organization has complete control over the platform, making it democratic. Launched in 2016, UPI now handles transactions worth US $ 1.5 trillion every year. Average settlement time for each transaction is 2 seconds. This has increased transparency and convenience. This is why India's UPI has now become the global standard for digital payments.

The role of technology in making life easier is becoming more and more visible day by day. Thanks to Fastag technology, it has been ensured that our vehicles continue to whiz along the highway without stopping. This use of technology has reduced congestion and reduced waiting time at toll plazas, accelerating digital payments as well as providing smooth movement within our borders.

Technology has taken leaps and bounds since 5G was implemented and we have installed more than 1 lakh sites in 481 districts with 5G coverage. While launching 5G services in India, Prime Minister Modi shared his vision to make people's lives easier by using 5G in sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture, construction etc. India is steadily working towards becoming an exporter of 4G and 5G technology in the next three years.

We have proven the prowess of our engineers and scientists with this scalable digital public good. We are now developing OCEN (Open Credit Enabled Network), which will increase credit penetration by shifting the system to cash flow based lending. OCEN will lead to competition among different banks to lend to people, reducing the cost of credit. According to Morgan Stanley estimates, this will increase the credit-to-GDP ratio to 100% by 2031 from the current 57%.

Led by the vision of Prime Minister Modi, this transformative digital and technology-led revolution empowers ordinary citizens and transforms their lives. This model is now being followed across sectors, be it health, education, logistics, agriculture or defence, all are creating similar platforms on which startups or any industry can create vibrant ecosystem solutions. .

In times of global uncertainty, India has entered its 'immortality'. Moving forward under the visionary, decisive and action-oriented leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India's G20 presidency will continue to evolve, serving the world with our scalable and public digital infrastructure and sharing it with the world.

(The writer is Union Minister of Railways Communication and Electronics and Information Technology.)