Innovators fuel India’s ‘techade’ dream: Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed confidence that India’s dream of “techade” — Indian technologies dominating the decade — will be fulfilled by its innovators. He said domestic patent filings have outscored India’s foreign patent filings during the monthly  “Mann Ki Baat,”  programme.

He added ‘democracy’ is in our veins, it is in our culture — it has been an integral part of our work for centuries. Referring to this year’s Padma awards he called them as “People’s Padma”, noting that a sizable number of Padma awardees come from tribal communities and people associated with tribal society.

Talking about the book India — The Mother of Democracy, the Prime Minister said, “India is the largest democracy in the world and we Indians are also proud of the fact that our country is also the mother of democracy.”

“Democracy is in our veins, it is in our culture — it has been an integral part of our work for centuries. By nature, we are a democratic society. Dr Ambedkar had compared the Buddhist monks’ union to the Indian Parliament. He described it as an institution where there were many rules for motions, resolutions, quorum, voting and counting of votes. Babasaheb believed that Lord Buddha must have gotten inspiration from the political systems of that time.”

He added that after reading the book one will feel how the spirit of democracy has been flowing in every part of India for centuries.

Talking about this year’s Padma awardees, he said that this time there has been a good representation of the tribal community and people associated with tribal life. “Tribal life is different from the hustle of the cities; its challenges are also different. Despite this, tribal societies are ready to preserve their traditions. Efforts are also made to preserve and research aspects related to tribal communities.” The PM mentioned that people who have worked on tribal languages like Toto, Ho, Kui, Kuvi and Manda have got Padma Awards. He also mentioned that people working with tribal communities like Siddhi, Jarawa and Onge were honoured this time.

“Tribal communities have been an integral part of our land, our heritage. Their contribution in the development of the country and society is very important. Honouring the personalities who worked for them will also inspire the new generation," he remarked.

Modi noted that this year the echoes of the Padma awards are being heard even in those areas that used to be Naxal affected. "Due to their efforts, those who show the right path to the misguided youth in Naxalite-affected areas have been honoured with Padma awards," he said.

He also noted that awardees also include people who have enriched the world of music.

“Many Padma awardees are those friends among us who have always kept the country paramount, dedicating their lives to the principle of nation first," the Prime Minister said.

Lauding the rising acceptance of yoga and millets, he said that it was on India's proposals that the United Nations adopted June 21 as the International Day of Yoga and declared this year the International Year of Millets.

"Milletpreneurs of Odisha are in the limelight these days. A self-help group of about 1,500 women from the tribal district of Sundergarh is associated with the Odisha millets mission. Here women are making everything from millets… cookies, rasgulla, gulab jamun and even cakes. Due to their great demand in the market the income of women is also increasing," Modi said.

Referring to several other developments in different states related to millet's growing popularity, he said that meals prepared from it are being served at various G-20 events across the country.

The PM also noted that domestic patent filings have outscored the country's foreign patent filings and expressed confidence that India's dream of "techade" will be fulfilled on the strength of its innovators.
"For the first time in the last 11 years in India, the number of domestic patent filings was higher than foreign filings. It also shows the growing scientific prowess of India. We all know that knowledge is paramount in the global economy of the 21st century. I believe that the dream of India's techade will definitely be fulfilled on the strength of our innovators and their patents," Modi said.

He informed the lecterns that the total number of Ramsar sites, an international recognition for wetlands, in the country has increased to 75 from 26 in 2014.

Talking about e-waste, the Prime Minister said that if it is not disposed of properly, it can also harm the environment, but if dealt with carefully, it can become a great force in the circular economy of recycling and reuse.