Prime Minister Modi Says " Digital connectivity is a basic right like education "

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday

pitched for making digital connectivity a "basic

right" for children just as their right to

schooling, and stressed the need to make

school education more "creative".

"School education in science and mathematics

should become more creative and stimulating.

Let us also use the internet to bring the best

of our scientists in direct contact with our

children and our youth. Digital connectivity

should become as much a basic right as

access to school," Modi said, while

inaugurating the 102nd Indian Science

Congress in Mumbai.

The university system in India, Modi said,

must be placed at the cutting edge of the

research and development activities in the

country.

He called for broadening the scope of

investment in science and technology that is

at present focused on central government

agencies.

"Our universities must be freed from the

clutches of excessive regulation and

cumbersome procedures. They must have a

higher degree of academic freedom and

autonomy, and, there should be as much

emphasis on research as on teaching," he

said.

Modi said India needed to foster a strong

culture of collaboration between institutions

and across disciplines to take advantage of

developments, innovations and expertise in

diverse areas.

( Also See: Committed to Improve Tele-Density,

Voice, Broadband Penetration: Prasad )

Underscoring the importance of international

collaboration in scientific research and the

need to benefit from growing the trend of

such endeavours, Modi said he "placed

science and technology at the forefront of our

diplomatic engagement".

"As I have travelled abroad, I have personally

sought out scientists to explore collaborations

in areas like clean energy, agriculture,

biotechnology, medicine and healthcare.

"We have built excellent partnerships with all

leading nations to address the grand

challenges of the world today. I have also

offered our expertise to our neighbours and

other developing countries," he said.

Modi said India's global competitiveness

depended not on reinventing the wheel but on

sustained development and indigenous

innovations.

"Our long-term global competitiveness will

depend not on replicating what others have

done, but through a process of sustained

development and innovation."

Modi urged the domestic industrial sector to

"step up investments in science and

technology in its own interest" and make the

practice a corporate social responsibility.

"India's own pharmaceutical industry has

carved out a place for itself in the world,

because it invests significantly in research,"

he said.

"For a safe, sustainable, prosperous future for

India, or global leadership in a knowledge and

technology intensive world, we need to put

science, technology and innovation at the top

of national priorities," the prime minister

concluded.

The five-day conference at the University of

Mumbai will see deliberations and presentation

of papers by scientists and Nobel laureates

from across the globe.

As the Science Congress returns to Mumbai

after 45 years, the emphasis will be on

showcasing the city as a science hub as well

as being the financial capital of India.