Our governance model is tech-first: PM Narendra Modi at Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020

The Government of India has made technology a key part of all schemes and built its governance model on a tech-first approach, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he inaugurated Karnataka's flagship annual technology event, Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 (BTS2020) on Thursday.

"Technology is the prime reason our schemes have gone beyond files and have impacted the lives of Indians at speed and at scale. This also gives us the confidence that we can vaccinate a large population of people against the COVID-19 virus in a short period of time," PM Modi said.

Modi was speaking at Bengaluru Tech Summit, which is one of the oldest and most definitive events in the ICT, Electronics, and Biotechnology sector. The summit, which has gone virtual this year, is being held from November 19 to 21.

It is organised by the Government of Karnataka along with Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (the state government's vision group on information technology, biotechnology and startups) and Software Technology Parks of India.

Delivering the inaugural address, PM Modi said, "It is fitting that technology is helping organise this important summit on tech in a virtual manner. Digital India, which we launched five years ago, is no more just a government initiative - it has become a way of life. It has allowed the nation to experience a human-centric approach to development."

The PM addressed delegates from over 25 nations participating in the 23rd edition of the event along with thought leaders, industry captains, technocrats, researchers, innovators, investors, policymakers, and educators.

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More than 200 Indian companies are expected to set up virtual exhibitions, and the event is likely to see over 4,000 delegates, 270 speakers, around 75 panel discussions, and 50,000+ participants every day, according to an official statement.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, the resilience of the tech sector came into effect. Solutions were deployed to enable work from home and work from anywhere. Technology helped to bring people together during the crisis. The pandemic was thus a bend in the road, and not the end," Modi said, adding:

"The amount of tech adoption that happened in the last few months may not have happened in a decade. We are now in the middle of the information era, where change is disruptive."

In this information era, according to PM Modi, the first mover advantage doesn't matter as much as the best mover advantage. "Anyone can build a tech product to disrupt existing equations in the market. India is now uniquely positioned to leap ahead in the information era. It's time for tech solutions designed in India to be deployed for the world," PM Modi said.

Other dignitaries present at the inauguration included Scott Morrison, PM of Australia; Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union IT Minister; BS Yediyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka; S Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder, Infosys and Chairman, Axilor Ventures; Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Founder & CMD, Biocon; Prashanth Prakash, Partner, Accel Partners, and more.