PM wants to make mobile governance a game-changer

Sharing his dreams for “accessible, additive and affordable” online public services, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his first Digital Dialogue on Sunday, asking people to extensively use technology in their daily lives.

The PM promised to make mobile governance a “gamechanger” even as he wants the nation to “emerge as the Innovation Hub where the next big ideas emerge, driven by the power of technology”.

Answering select questions posed on Twitter throughout Sunday, Modi said that a portal, DeitY, is set to come up, where information and prices of drugs and medicine will be made available. He also spoke of “e-hospitals” where appointments of doctors, payments and reports will be available online.

Modi talked about digital lockers and e-signatures to manage key documents with ease, highlighted the National Scholarship Portal that brings together all government scholarships, and asked people to “think of paying the salary of your support staff from your mobile to their Jan Dhan accounts”.

“I want to tell everyone — our quest for a Digital India is all-encompassing. It is going to touch your lives in several ways, making it easier,” the PM said.

Modi also revealed how he personally uses technology, describing himself as a “curious mind”. He said he wants to know more about the latest technology but that his tight schedule didn’t give him enough time.

“Like any common person, I scan my mails and try to be as regular in correspondence (by my own standards I am still slow). I may be travelling in the hills, in the northeast or in interior Chhattisgarh, but thanks to technology I am abreast with what is happening,” PM told his followers.

Modi said that he had been using technology for work from his days as a party worker. He admitted that after a long day of work, he finds social media “very, very refreshing”.