Hailing the Aadhaar initiative, the Nobel laureate said the digital technology was used to give citizens existence and further access to various government schemes seamlessly…reports Asian Lite News
Nobel laureate, Professor Paul Michael Romer said on Monday that while the United States, which saw the rise of the Silicon Valley, failed to use technology to improve the lives of its citizens, India has shown to the world how to use digital technology to make the lives of 140 crore people better.
Citing the example of digital public infrastructure (DPI) solutions like Aadhaar and Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Romer said the technological opportunities that were presented to the US were “wasted and squandered”.
“The question is, if we are given opportunities, what do we do with those? The digital opportunities that were given to the US were wasted and squandered phenomenally,” the top economist said during the ‘NDTV World Summit 2024’.
UPI-based transaction volume surged 52 per cent to 78.97 billion in the first half of this year (H1 2024), from 51.9 billion in the same period last year.
Similarly, the value of transactions grew by 40 per cent, increasing from Rs 83.16 lakh crore to Rs 116.63 lakh crore in the first six months of this year.
Hailing the Aadhaar initiative, the Nobel laureate said the digital technology was used to give citizens existence and further access to various government schemes seamlessly.
“The government has an important role to function as a regulator to effectively utilise technology for public good,” the top economist said.
“The government in India was happy to make apps (like UPI). It did not happen in the US. People in India can see how because of the government’s technological and digital intervention, their lives have become better,” said Romer, a former Chief Economist of the World Bank.
He further stated that problems like climate change can be tackled with technological innovation without compromising economic growth. According to the economist, the digital revolution in India is very different from most countries of the world, where the target is only a lucky few beneficiaries.
“India’s story is unique because it is providing benefits to all,” he said.
‘India’s Cities Must Expand for Job Growth
India is making rapid progress and in order to become a developed nation, the next big challenge is to create more room in the urban centres for more people to move in, get their first jobs, and contribute towards building the economy, Nobel laureate Professor Paul Michael Romer said on Monday.
Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the ‘NDTV World Summit 2024,’ Romer said that the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered real progress for all members of society.
“India can make a lot of progress quickly. This should be the goal without relaxing in between. What you want is a nation which keeps making progress towards achieving its economic goals. I think attracting foreign investors is a very good strategy for any country that’s trying to become a developed nation,” he elaborated.
The top economist further said that countries that are led by dynamic leaders like PM Modi will continue to make progress and will move ahead and those which are poorly led will fall behind.
Earlier at the event, Professor Romer hailed India’s digital growth, saying it has given citizens access to various government schemes seamlessly.
“India’s story is unique because it is providing benefits to all. The benefit in India is that people can see in their daily lives the benefits that they have been able to enjoy because of government innovations. People see that the government has delivered,” said Romer, former Chief Economist of the World Bank.
Lauding the Aadhaar initiative, the Nobel laureate said the government has an important role to function as a regulator to effectively utilise technology for the public good. Romer further stated that problems like climate change can be tackled with technological innovation without compromising economic growth
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