"Power To Empower": PM Modi's New Mantra At Key Delhi Conclave

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday unveiled his "power to empower" vision, emphasising that the real question was not who possessed power but how it was being utilised to benefit people.

Addressing the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, PM Modi said technology, data, knowledge and innovation had emerged as sources of power, and stressed the need to use them to create opportunities for millions of people.

Emphasising the need to ensure that the benefits of technological progress reach a wider section of society, the Prime Minister said the focus should be on how power could be used to empower people rather than remain concentrated among a few.

"The right question is: how is this power being utilised? Will technology only be beneficial for a few people or will create opportunities for crores of people? Will knowledge remain the strength of a few people, or empower everyone?" he said.

PM Modi said the approach called for a shift in thinking, prioritising empowerment over control, cooperation over competition and helping others succeed over individual success.

"This seeds a new thinking - power to empower. Ahead of power to control, power to enable. Ahead of Power to compete, power to cooperate. Ahead of power to succeed, power of helping others to succeed," he said.

The Prime Minister further said the idea of using knowledge, money and power for a larger purpose was not new to India, adding that the true value of power lay in how it was used.

"This is not new to India. We have always emphasised the importance of utilisation of knowledge, money, and power. The real value of power lies in its purpose," PM Modi said.

"Whoever possesses knowledge, wealth, and power, how they use it is crucial. The true value of power lies in its purpose, and it's crucial to understand this philosophy in today's times... Our thousands of years of tradition have taught us this, and in India, we have demonstrated its application in our governance and work culture," he added.

The Prime Minister said India was also sharing its experience with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) with other countries to help them develop digital systems suited to their needs.

"We are sharing our experience with Digital Public Infrastructure with other countries so that they can develop their digital systems according to their needs," PM Modi said.

Referring to India's digital initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, PM Modi said the country had developed the CoWIN platform as an open-source system. He said India's capabilities should help create opportunities for other countries as well.

"During COVID-19, we also created the CoWIN platform, which was open source. Our continuous efforts are aimed at ensuring that India's capabilities open new doors of possibility for other countries as well. In other words, our capabilities should empower humanity," he said.

Emphasising the wider significance of innovation, PM Modi said turning ideas into products and problems into solutions was an important capability, but its impact increased when more people had access to such opportunities.

"Friends, the power of innovation is also like this. Turning an idea into a product and a problem into a solution is a great capability in itself. But when more and more people in society get this opportunity, the balance of power is maintained, and its impact increases manifold," the Prime Minister said.