Ravi Shankar Prasad lauds transformational digital initiatives

In an interesting and memorable iteration of the Government’s priorities and agenda for digital and IT for the nation, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said, “IT plus IT equals IT,” alluding to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, he said, believes that India’s Talent plus Information Technology would give us India’s Tomorrow.

Prasad delivered the keynote address at the Digital India Summit & Awards 2016, organised by Times Network, and addressed some of the most important architects of India’s digital revolution who had gathered to discuss India’s progress in the digital world. The experts were also addressed by Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, and RS Sharma, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The day-long event culminated with the presentation of Digital India Awards 2016.

The Digital India Summit & Awards 2016 was aired on TIMES NOW and ET NOW, India’s most impactful News channels.

In his keynote address, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that over the past slightly under two years that it had been in power, the Union Government had been trying to bring in transformational programmes of lasting significance and impact. “Digital India, Skill India and Make In India will transform the nation,” Prasad said, adding that the results had begun showing. He further said that while earlier only a few major metros like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Gurgaon had IT hubs, “Now we have IT hubs even in mofussil towns”.

Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said, “Expansion of digital services and bringing digital literacy down to the grassroots level” were priorities because “when you do that, you will have all the people empowered to use the digital platforms to improve their lives.” He added that “Programmes like these (The Digital India Summit & Awards 2016) are extremely critical for bringing the government and the private sector together.” He observed that regular feedback and advice from the private sector (to the government) would help “strengthen the program of digital India… making it a success.”

Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog, also addressed the Summit.

The day-long event also recognised and honoured individuals, businesses and organisations that are harnessing the power of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and digital tools to do good work for the Nation and the organisation. RS Sharma, Chairman, TRAI, gave away the Digital India Awards 2016, which honoured seven individuals in the ‘Good for India’ and four in the ‘Good for Organization’ categories.

Speaking at the event, M K Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network, said, “Times Network is home to India’s most influential television audiences, and therefore it was only fitting that we host the summit to provide a platform for some of the most celebrated thought leaders and digital evangelists to ideate on the transformational area of India’s digital development which is critical to national growth.”

Arnab Goswami, President – News & Editor-in-Chief, ET Now & Times Now, said, “The Digital India Summit is a reaffirmation of our commitment to creating a digitally powered economy. I truly believe the next two years can be transformational for India.”

The Digital India Awards were bestowed across two categories: ‘Good For India’, and ‘Good For Organizations’.

The winners in the ‘Good for India’ category:

• Kabadiwalla Connect (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Innovation’ for Smart City Solutions)
• Nextenders (India; Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Innovation’ for E-governance Solutions)
• CSC E-Governance Services India (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Innovation’ for E-education learning Solutions)
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Sub-category -Outstanding Contribution in Digital Innovation’ for E-healthcare delivery Solutions)
• Sounds Of Silence Foundation (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Innovation’ for Skills & employment Solutions)
• Earthwatch Institute India (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Innovation’ for Digital Environment Solutions)
• Swasti Agro & Bioproducts (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Innovation’ for Agricultural Solutions)

In the ‘Good for Organization’ category, the winners were:

• Biocon (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Enterprise’ for Manufacturing)
• Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (Sub-Category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Enterprise’ for Services)
• Spoors Technology Solutions India (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Start-up Innovators)
• Shelter Associates (Sub-category - Outstanding Contribution in Digital Social Innovation).

The entries had been judged by an eminent jury comprising Aruna Jayanthi (CEO, Capgemini), R Chandrasekhar (CEO, NASSCOM), Kiran Karnik (Chairman, CII, National Committee Telecom & Broadband), Shinjini Kumar (CEO, Payments Bank, Paytm), Joy Chakraborty (COO, PD Hinduja Hospital), and Ashutosh Jain (Chief Information Security Officer, Axis Bank).

The second Digital India Summit 2016 and the Digital India Awards were supported by:
Lead & Award Partner- Huawei
Lead Partners- GTL Infrastructure and Union Bank of India
Recruitment Partner- Timesjobs.com
Digital Partner- Tech Mahindra
Digital Storage Partner- Western Digital
Knowledge Partner- MAIT
Tech 4 Good Partner- NASSCOM Foundation