Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inaugurating the programme marking National Technology Day 2023, at Delhi's Pragati Maidan on Thursday said that more than 75 lakh students are working on over 12 lakh innovation projects in Atal Tinkering Lab. The Prime Minister said that policies like Startup India, Digital India, and National Education Policy have taken India to new heights in the field of technology.
PM Modi while talking about the government's contribution to the cause said, "Be it JAM trinity, CoWIN portal or digital market for farmers, our government used technology as an agent of inclusion." He further said, "We've got a specific goal for 2047, we need to make our country developed & self-reliant. Whether it is the country's economic growth or sustainable development goal or making of an inclusive ecosystem for innovation, technology is important in every step."
The programme also marked the commencement of the celebration of the 25th year of National Technology Day, which will be held from May 11-14.
During the event, the prime minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated multiple projects worth more than Rs 5,800 Crores related to scientific and technological advancement in the country.
The projects for which the foundation stone was laid include- Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory – India (LIGO-India), Hingoli; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jatni, Odisha; and Platinum Jubilee Block of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
The celebration of National Technology Day was started by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 to honour Indian scientists, engineers, and technologists, who worked for India’s scientific and technological advancement and ensured the successful conduct of Pokhran tests in May 1998. Since then, National Technology Day is celebrated every year on May 11 with the themes varying each year. This year's theme is ‘School to Startups- Igniting Young Minds to Innovate’.