IT Minister Vaishnaw believes that marginalised people should benefit from technology

On Friday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw remarked that the digital divide must be bridged in order for digital inclusion to occur so that marginalised people are not left behind in technological advancement.

"Economic divides can still be overcome. If you don't bridge the digital divide now, it will be too late because the divide widens with each passing day, each passing hour "During the three-day 7th India Ideas Conclave, titled 'India 2.0 — Rebooting to Meta Era,' Vaishnaw, who holds the portfolios of Railways, Communication, Electronics, and Information Technology, said.

According to the Union minister, technology cycles used to last 10 to 15 years 30 to 40 years ago, but have recently decreased. He pointed out that technological cycles are so short that by the time we catch up, things have changed.

"How do we ensure that those at the bottom of the pyramid (marginalised part) enjoy the same benefits of technology as people in Bengaluru do presently in this kind of environment?" Vaishnaw explained.

"How do we ensure that we reach out to them and that they have an equal opportunity to compete in this world? How do we ensure that every child in the world benefits from technology? "he said.

In this regard, he stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is emphasising on Antyodaya, which roughly translates to "inclusive development of the marginalised."

"Our goal is to bring technology to such areas. We have made a significant investment. Two lakh panchayats have joined the BharatNet programme. There have been numerous new technological trials conducted "the Minister clarified

He claims that the government must grasp a few technologies as soon as possible since it cannot afford to wait for the future and must act now.

In this regard, he emphasised the importance of expanding telecom technology, noting that the country should be able to create its own competence in 4G and 5G to make the transition to 6G easier.

Vaishnaw further emphasised the importance of growing the country as a semiconductor hub and increasing the country's semiconductor talent pool from 50,000 to 85,000 over the next ten years.

He also emphasised the importance of mastering the talent of device design.