IAMAI Digital Summit: Towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat

The 17th India Digital Summit, the flagship event of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMI), has returned with an in-person event with a theme centering around the theme ‘Amrit Kaal Digital India@100’. Amrit Kaal is said to be an auspicious time and for starting new ventures. India has entered into a crucial era in its journey to becoming an economic powerhouse.
The event, being held on February 20 and 21, at The Lalit New Delhi, saw an impressive line-up of policy makers, industry leaders, regulators and other stakeholders. The event saw more than 3,000 delegates, 150 speakers, and 500 digital brands. The event covers the digital industry in e-commerce, entertainment, advertising, online gaming, advertising, etc.
Sanjay Gupta, country head and VP Google India, and chairman of IAMAI, inaugurated the session. Addressing the audience, Gupta said that India offers a unique opportunity for technological solutions which can surmount India’s vast disparities. According to him, the unified payment system (UPI) is a great example of how Indian companies can power an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
He informed that IAMIA is working in tandem with the National Security Council Secretariat to launch ICAMPS, which is an integrated system to secure mobile data and devices.
Gupta stressed the need for thoughtfulness, collaboration, and active participation in policy conversations for the Indian tech industry.
During a fireside chat on “Indian Unicorns: the building block for Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of India Mart, talked about the drastic transformation India has seen in the past. The session was moderated by Apurva Chamaria, Head of Startups & Venture Capital, Google.
“Just five years ago we had less than 500 million computers and now we have 500 billion computers around the world, and in the next five years, we'll have the entire population covered with computers. So there's no doubt that everybody would need software and if 50% of that is produced by India for the next 20- 23 years I mean it's not a no-brainer to call Atmanirbhar Bharat. And, we will become a manufacturing hub," he said.  
Further, Dinesh added that presently many companies are self-financed and they don't need funding.  Today, customers can easily fund the business. Dinesh said that earlier unemployed people used to opt for entrepreneurship, but presently people opt to become entrepreneurs by their own choice.