Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need to work together to ensure the timely roll-out of next-generation 5G technology to leapfrog into the future and empower millions of people in the country. Mr. Modi was delivering the inaugural address at the virtual India Mobile Congress (IMC) yesterday.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minister gave a call to work together to make India a global hub for telecom equipment, design, development, and manufacturing.

Mr. Modi cautioned that due to technological up-gradation, there is a culture of replacing handsets and gadgets frequently. He called for setting up a task-force to think of a better way of handling electronic waste and create a circular economy.

The Prime Minister said that the digital potential of the country is immense. He said, with the help of mobile technology, poor and vulnerable sections of the society have been provided help during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister said India will launch the world's biggest Covid-19 vaccination drive with the help of mobile technology.

Appreciating the country's growth in the mobile and internet connectivity sector, Mr. Modi said, India has a billion-plus mobile phone user and 750 million internet users.  He said half of the total internet users have been added in the last four years.