Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said the electronic sector in the country has taken a major leap forward in the last few years, transforming India from being a tech importer to a tech producer and tech exporter.

“When the Narendra Modi government took over in 2014, electronics manufacturing was dismal. For mobile phone manufacturing, the parts had to be imported from the West. Today, the major telecom majors have set up production bases in India and last year we exported Rs 20,000 crores worth mobile phones,” the Minister said, while addressing a gathering of students, startups and entrepreneurs at the Omkar Nath Town Hall in Bharuch.

He said the world too has now come to realise India’s entrepreneurial power and many countries have evinced interest for collaborations with our home-grown startups and unicorns.

Launching the Action Plan for Startups and Innovation for the Bharuch District, Mr Chandrasekhar said the roadmap proposes partnerships between Industry, Academia, Government and Civil Society. It aims to create opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurships-- to build New India for Young India, he added.

Stressing that young generation are the real drivers of the digital economy, Mr Chandrasekhar said technology can be an enabler of economic transformation and help in achieving the goal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji to build an Atma nirbhar Bharat. “Atma Nirbhar Bharat is not a political slogan but a deep-rooted framework that travels through every district, every town and every village and taps into their resources,” he said.

 

 

Earlier in the day. the Minister was given a warm welcome on arrival at Vadodara city by officials from Union Ministry of Electronics and IT, State Government and Party workers led by District President Dr. Vijay Shah, Gen Secretaries Rakesh Sevak and Jaswant Sinh Solanki and others.

He later travelled to Surat where he engaged in a fireside chat with students. He felicitated students and innovators who had set up their own startups.

In Question-and-Answer sessions with the students both at Bharuch and Surat, Mr Chandrasekhar faced wide-ranging of questions—from his student days, his stints as entrepreneur and chip maker and as a political leader to Government’s policies on data protection, crypto currency, cyber security, reservations etc. He deftly responded to each of the queries in his friendly, engaging manner.

The Minister also had discussions with senior officials from Central and state government and also met party karyakartas in the district.

Mr Chandrasekhar who is on a two-day visit to the state, will be visiting the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) in Surat tomorrow, besides other engagements.

SD/GP/JD

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