Technology for the Masses
The enthusiasm that is being seen in India regarding drone technology is amazing. This energy is visible, it is a reflection of the quantum jump in the drone service and drone based industry in India. It shows the possibilities of an emerging large sector of employment generation in India. Today, India is moving at a fast pace towards becoming the biggest expert in drone technology in the world on the strength of start-up power.
The drone festival is not just a technology but also a celebration of new governance of new India, unprecedented positivity towards new experiments . Incidentally, 8 years ago, this was the time when we started implementing new mantras of good governance in India. Following the path of Minimum Government , Maximum Governance, we have made ease of living, ease of doing business our priority. Following the mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, we chose the path of connecting every citizen, every region of the country with the government. For that we relied on modern technology, made it a part of the system as an important bridge.
The technology to which a very small section of the country had access, we have assumed that technology means that a large number of people have business. It has no place in the life of ordinary human beings. By changing that whole mindset, we have taken many steps towards making technology accessible to all , and are going to take further steps.
When it comes to technology, we have seen that some people here even try to deny it by showing fear of technology. If this technology comes, it will happen, it will happen like that . Now it is true that once upon a time there used to be a tower in the whole city. His clock used to ring and the time of the village was fixed, till who thought that every street would have a watch on every wrist. So when the change has come, they must have wondered and even today there will be some people , who would like to build a tower in the village and put a clock there. It will be useful at some point of time, that is, the change that happens. With that change we have to change ourselves, change the systems, only then progress is possible.
We have also experienced a lot during the recent corona vaccination. The problem of technology in the time of earlier governments was understood to be part of, efforts were also made to prove it, anti-poor . For this reason, before 2014, there was an atmosphere of indifference regarding the use of technology in governance. If a few people have done it according to their interest, they have done it, it has not become the nature of the system. The biggest loss has been done to the poor of the country , to the underprivileged of the country, to the middle class of the country, and those who were filled with the spirit of aspirations have been forced to live in the pit of despair.
We do not deny that new technology brings disruption. It finds new mediums, it writes new chapters. It also creates new paths, new systems. We all have seen those times how easy things related to life were made so difficult. I don’t know how many of you must have lined up for food grains, kerosene, sugar at the ration shop in your childhood. But there was a time such that hours used to be spent in line for this work. And I remember my childhood that there was always a fear that by the time my number comes, the grain will run out, will it be time to close the shop ? This fear 7-8 years ago must have been in the life of every poor. But I am satisfied that today with the help of technology we have put an end to this fear. Now there is a belief in the people that they will get what they deserve . Technology has gone a long way in ensuring last mile delivery, taking forward the vision of saturation. And I know that by moving forward at this pace we can achieve the goal of Antyodaya. The experience of the last 7-8 years strengthens my faith further.
My confidence is increasing. There is now the Trishakti of Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile – JAM. Because of this trinity, today we are able to deliver things like ration to the poor with complete transparency across the country. Even during this pandemic, we have ensured free ration to 80 crore poor.
It is our power to correctly design, efficiently develop and implement our technology solutions that today India is successfully running the world’s largest vaccination campaign. Today, with the help of the Robust UPI framework developed by the country, lakhs of crores of rupees are being transferred directly to the bank account of the poor. Women, farmers, students are now getting help directly from the government. In the new India of the 21st century, in young India, to give new strength, speed and scale to the country, Technology has become an important tool.
Today we are developing the right solutions related to technology and we have also developed the skill to scale up them. Promoting drone technology in the country is another means of taking forward this commitment of good governance , ease of living . We have got another such smart tool in the form of Drone , which is going to become a part of the life of ordinary Indian very soon. Be it our cities or remote villages of the country – countryside areas , farm fields or playgrounds, work related to defense or disaster management, The use of drones is going to increase everywhere.
Similarly, whether it is tourism sector, media, film industry, drones will help in increasing both quality and content in these areas. We are going to see more use of drones in the coming days than what is being used now.
Drone technology is also going to play an important role in making the life of the farmer in the village more convenient, more prosperous. Today, good roads have reached villages, electricity – water has reached , optical fiber is reaching, digital technology has expanded unprecedentedly. But still, most of the land-related , farming-related work in the village has to be done using the old system. There is all kinds of wastage in that old system, there are many problems too, and productivity is not known, it is not possible to decide whether something happened or not. The people of our village suffer the most because of this.
It happens to our farmers, and more of that happens to our small farmers. The land and resources of the small farmer are not enough to challenge the disputes and go to court. Now see, from land records to crop damages in drought – flood relief, the system is dependent on the employees of Revenue Department everywhere. The greater the human interface , the greater the lack of trust , and conflicts arise out of it. If there are disputes, there is also a waste of time and money. If the estimates are made from the human estimation, then even that accurate estimate is not possible. To overcome all these difficulties, a new tool has come in front of us as a powerful effective means of drone in itself.
PM Swamitva Yojana is also an example of how drone technology is becoming the basis of a big revolution . Under this scheme, digital mapping of every property in the villages of the country is being done for the first time , digital property cards are being given to the people. Human intervention has reduced in this , and the scope for discrimination has ended. Drones have played a big role in this. I am happy that with the help of drones, about 65 lakh property cards have been generated in the country so far. And the one who has got this card is satisfied that yes I have as much land as I have., I have got the correct details.
Today we are seeing that our farmers are increasingly attracted towards drone technology, there is an enthusiasm in them, they are ready to adopt it. This is not how it happened. This is because the way the use of technology has been increased in the agriculture sector in the last 7-8 years.
Just now, when I was talking to the farmers outside, an engineer from Madhya Pradesh was telling me that people now call me by drone. Said I am an engineer ,But now my identity has become that of a drone. He told me that sir, look, I told him, what do you see in the future ? So he told me that sir, see when pulses is a matter, will not we have its cultivation here. And the reason for that would be a drone, I said how ? He said sir pulses is cultivated, then the height of his crop becomes high, so the farmer does not feel like going inside for medicine, where will I go , half of it falls on my body after spraying, and said that’s why He does not even go towards that crop. Said that now there are such crops due to drones , which are sometimes higher than the height of man. Due to the drone, its care, its medicine, it is going to be so easy that the farmer of our country will easily go towards pulses cultivation.
Today we have made an effort to bring technology in the agriculture sector. Soil Health Cards has emerged as a great force for our farmers. And I would like it as if these are drone services, villages can become soil tasting labs, new employment areas can be opened. And the farmer can decide by doing his soil tasting every time that I have this need in this soil, this is the need. Micro irrigation, sprinkler, all these things are becoming a part of modern irrigation system.
Now see the crop insurance scheme, the biggest work inside the crop insurance scheme is our GPS. Whether it is the use of technology , the arrangement of a digital market like e-NAM, neem coated urea or whether it is a matter of depositing money directly into the account of farmers through technology. The efforts that have been made in the last 8 years have greatly increased the confidence of the farmers in technology.
Today the farmer of the country is more comfortable with technology, adopting it more easily. Now drone technology is going to take our agriculture sector to another level. On which land how much and which manure to apply, what is lacking in the soil, how much irrigation has to be done, all this is also happening in our estimation.
Not only this, drones are also successful in identifying which plant, which part is affected by the disease. And so he doesn’t spray indiscriminately, but spray smartly. This also saves the cost of expensive medicines. That is, with the help of drone technology, the small farmer will also get strength, speed and the progress of the small farmer will also be ensured. And today as we celebrate the Amrit Mahotsav of freedom, it is my dream that India should have a smartphone in every hand, a drone in every field and prosperity in every home.
We are strengthening the network of Health and Wellness Centers in the villages of the country , promoting telemedicine. But the delivery of medicines and other items in villages has been a major challenge. In this too, there is going to be a possibility of delivery by drone in a very short time i.e. in very less time and at a faster speed. We have also experienced the benefit of the delivery of the Kovid vaccine by drone. It can prove to be very helpful in providing quality health services to remote tribal, hilly, inaccessible areas.
There is another aspect of technology to which I would like to draw your attention. In earlier times, technology and its inventions were considered for the elite class. Today we are making technology available to Masses first.
Drone technology is also an example. Till a few months back, there were a lot of restrictions on drones . We have removed most of the restrictions in a very short time . We are also moving towards creating a strong drone manufacturing ecosystem in India through schemes like PLI. When technology goes in between Masses, then the possibilities of its use also increase more and more. Today our farmers, our students , our start ups , are exploring new possibilities of what we can do with drones . The drone is now going to the farmers, going to the villages , so the possibility of using it more in various works in future has also increased. You will see that now not only in the cities, but also in the countryside, different types of drones will be used , our countrymen will do more innovation in it. I believe that in the coming days, there will be more experiments in drone technology, it will have new uses.
(Translated Excerpts from PM’s address at inauguration of Bharat Drone Mahotsav at Pragati Maidan, Delhi, on May 27, 2022)
