Hardeep Puri hosts 'Vishesh Sampark Abhiyan'; leaders, experts discuss digital revolution under PM Modi

New Delhi [India], May 20 : Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hosted a 'Vishesh Sampark Abhiyan' event at his residence on Monday.
The event brought together leading IT professionals, innovators, startup leaders, and intellectuals to discuss the country's digital transformation and future potential under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Abhiraj Singh Bhal, founder of Urban Company, highlighted the dynamic progress witnessed over the past decade. He emphasized the importance of continued infrastructure development and reforms.
He said, "There is an energy and zeal in the last 10 years we have seen which will only unlock India's potential in the coming 10 years. So the next 5 years my humble submission would be, the government is on a fastrack mission of infrastructure development and reforms that should continue and I am sure India's potential will be unlocked."
Rajan Anandan, Managing Director of Peak XV Partners, spoke on the extraordinary growth in digital connectivity post-2014 reforms.
He lauded the deregulation in strategic sectors such as space and defence, which has spurred innovation, making India a top innovator in aerospace and defence.
He said, "Post the reforms of 2014, the number of active mobile phone data users in India has become more than 800 million, which is more than in the US and China combined. So that's an extraordinary transformation of a digital ecosystem. We have without question the most vibrant in terms of broad-based innovation ecosystem when it comes to Digital India."
He added, "But the thing that I am most excited about is De-regulation in specific, strategic sectors. The De-regulation and opening of strategic sectors like Space, Defence, etc. have spurred innovation. Because of the ecosystem provided by the government in the last 10 years, India has become the top innovator in cutting-edge sectors like aerospace, space and defence, which was unthinkable in the past!"
Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the Indian Cellular Association, shared the inspiring growth story of India's mobile phone industry.
He noted a 400 per cent growth in electronics, with the sector now valued at USD 150 million.
Mohindroo said, "Post the reforms of 2014, the number of active mobile phone data users in India has become more than 800 million, which is more than in the US and China combined. So that's an extraordinary transformation of a digital ecosystem. We have without question the most vibrant in terms of broad-based innovation ecosystem when it comes to Digital India."
He added, "But the thing that I am most excited about is De-regulation in specific, strategic sectors. The De-regulation and opening of strategic sectors like Space, Defence, etc have spurred innovation. Because of the ecosystem provided by the government in the last 10 years, India has become the top innovator in cutting-edge sectors like aerospace, space and defence, which was unthinkable in the past!"
Rohan Verma, CEO of Map My India, emphasized the government's role in unlocking opportunities in the space and geospatial sectors. He credited Prime Minister Modi's vision for the significant growth in maps and geospatial technology.
Verma said, "The last 4 years what this government has done, they just unlocked the opportunity in our space of maps and geospatial. It's clearly Prime Minister Modi's vision for what maps and geospatial can grow."
Gaurav Chaudhary, popularly known as Technical Guruji, underscored the impact of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on digital payments.
He shared a personal anecdote of using UPI in Paris, highlighting its global acceptance. Chaudhary also stressed the importance of including STEM education and digital literacy from an early age, not just in metro cities but also in villages.
He said, "UPI has been a game changer. Today I am really proud to say that India does the most amount of digital payments globally and its by long margin. When I recently went to Paris, I bought my ticket using UPI."
He added, "We should really focus on including SREM and digital literacy at an early age for all the students, not just in the metro cities but also in villages."