Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the B20 Summit India 2023 on Sunday afternoon and hailed India’s youth population as the driving force behind the country’s growth. Addressing an audience of global business leaders and experts, the PM urged business leaders to focus on issues like cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence going forward.
PM Modi began his address with a nod to India’s successful Chandrayaan-3 mission and said, "This time the festive season in India started from August 23. This celebration is Chandrayaan-3's landing on the surface of the moon. ISRO played an important role in the success of India's lunar mission. Along with this India's industries have also played an important role."
The PM stated that India possesses the largest youth talent and has become the face of digital revolution in the era of ‘Industry 4.0’. He said, “Business can transform potential into prosperity, obstacles into opportunities & aspiration into achievements. Whether they are small or big, global or local, business can ensure progress for everyone.”
Talking about focusing on the consumers, the PM said that there needs to be a balance between producers and consumers. He urged business leaders to focus on being more consumer-centric, where the consumers can be individuals or nations as well. He said, “Treating other countries only as a market will never work.” The PM called for the creation of a day dedicated to consumers globally, focused on ‘consumer care rather than just consumer rights.
Calling for a pro-planet approach, the PM noted that India is focusing on green energy and is trying to ‘replicate the success of solar energy in the green hydrogen sector’. He further called for the adoption of a healthy lifestyle beneficial for the planet, citing the use of millet, which acts as a superfood and is also helpful for the farmers.
He also said that India was the solution to global problems that emerged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. He added that India will lead the way in improving the global supply chain going ahead. Talking about cryptocurrency, PM Modi stated that a global framework is necessary for cryptocurrency. The leader urged for an integrated approach to deal with issues related to cryptocurrencies. He called for a focus on ‘ethical AI’ to deal with the increase in technology disruption.
The B20 Summit, organised for three days ending Sunday, acted as a platform to bring together a wide range of stakeholders in the business world. It is the official G20 dialogue forum for the global business community.