PM Modi inaugurates Indian Mobile Congress 2020: Here’s what he said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020 today. At the event, which is being held virtually this year, PM Modi stressed on the importance of 5G deployment.

“Now, we need to work together to ensure timely roll-out of 5G network connectivity in order to leapfrog into the future and empower millions of Indians. We are also in fact embarking on a plan to ensure that over the next 3 years, every village will have high speed fibre optic connectivity,” PM Modi said while inaugurating IMC 2020 virtually.

In addition to 5G, the Prime Minister also talked about the importance of mobile telephony and innovation. “It is because of mobile technology that we are seeing billions of cashless transactions which boost formalisation and transparency...It is because of mobile technology that we will enable smooth contactless interface on toll booths,” PM Modi said on the occasion.

“I am thankful to the Indian telecom sector. lt is because of their relentless innovation and effort that the country functioned smoothly during the pandemic, and still continues to do so. Be it in making healthcare more affordable and accessible to people, providing online education to the students or even in making essential services available to all in a hassle-free manner,” he added.

Lastly, PM Modi also touched on the issue of mobile technology being used to embark on Covid-19 vaccination drive.

“India is emerging as one of the most preferred destination for mobile manufacturing. It is of paramount importance, considering the fact that, it is with the help of mobile technology that we will embark on one of the world's largest COVID-19 vaccination drive,” he said.

IMC 2020 began on December 8, 2020, and it will go on until December 10, 2020. The theme for this year’s event is “Inclusive Innovation: Smart, secure, sustainable”. The three-day long event is jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) and COAI and it will see over 30 participating countries, 210 speakers, over 50 thought leadership sessions, over 150 exhibitors, and over 3000 CXO level delegates coming together this year. Ericsson, Dell Technologies, Ribbon and Red Hat are the top sponsors of IMC 2020.