While world reeled under Covid pandemic, India witnessed 38 billion US dollars inflow of FDI: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

Hyderabad: Post the opening of TiE Global Summit, much concurrent session held. In a session titled ‘Transformation of India with a focus on entrepreneur ecosystem’ in conversation with CNBC TV18’s Nisha Poddar, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that India has grown as a technology country. India has world’s second-largest start-up ecosystem, he said. While the world reeled under the Covid pandemic, India witnessed 38 billion U.S. dollars inflow of FDI.
 
He spoke about various fronts on which the Government is working to leverage technology for the benefit of India’s 1.3 billion populations. The solutions will not only benefit 1.3 billion but the next 4-5 billion people who will move over from poverty to middle class, he said.
 
He said that Niti Aayog has taken up various measures to attract FDI and has pushed limits in innovation. India is becoming an innovation-driven economy by removing regulatory barriers. He propounded various measures such as Aadhaar, DBT, UPI, Aayushman Bharat, etc. He said that India can build a number of tech products as it has skilled manpower and unique problems. The Post Covid-19 era will be a world of technology, he said. India can be a tech garage for the world, he added. India has worked on a range of products solving problems, he said.
 
Speaking on data culture, data economy and A.I. competence, Mr. Amitabh Kant said that it is an evolving and fast-changing digital landscape. Though data privacy has been in the limelight, India needs data protection and data empowerment too, he said.
 
Using data history is very critical to us. A framework to share data easily and reliably with control is needed. We can use data for machine learning, artificial learning, data empowerment and responsible artificial intelligence. Personal Data Protection Bill is under scrutiny by the Parliament, he informed.
 
India is data-rich but it has to be data-intelligent, find solutions to problems, Mr. Amitabh Kant said.  Artificial Intelligence can help add up to $957 billion to the Indian economy by 2035. The opportunity for AI in India is massive, he said. The focus should be on finding A.I. solutions and adopt them at scale. We should use A.I. for social good, he opined. Development and deployment of A.I. are mode critical, he added.
 
Answering a question on women entrepreneurship, Amitabh Kant said that the next big disruption in India will be led by women entrepreneurs. To transform India, we need to give a huge fillip to women entrepreneurship, he said. Speaking on the Startup ecosystem on India, Amitabh Kant called upon Indian companies and Indian family businesses to invest in the ecosystem. India should learn to support startups, he said.