Stressing the need for greater adoption of technology and innovation across sectors, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed confidence that India could achieve economic growth of more than 10 per cent. She said higher economic growth would help accelerate India’s journey towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat, but stressed that achieving this would require “a lot more effort” from all sides.
Sitharaman cited the growth of startups since 2015, saying they could make a significant contribution to the economy in the coming years. She also emphasised the need to overcome cynicism and “nudge” people to think positively and recognise the developments taking place on the ground.
Highlighting the role of technology in agriculture, she said technological interventions had made a “spectacular difference” in connecting producers with markets and improving productivity. She cited the use of technology to speed up harvesting and prepare land for the next crop, as well as drones and aerial geospatial instruments for precision mapping of land parcels that were previously mapped manually.
She also cited the use of point-of-sale (POS) machines in fertiliser distribution as an example of technology being used to prevent pilferage. She said the POS system, which was still under pilot testing, recorded details of the farmer, land and crop being cultivated, and provided farmers with information on the quantity of fertiliser that may be sufficient based on soil, irrigation and crop conditions.
The minister said farmers would continue to have a choice when purchasing fertilisers, while the technology would inform them about the quantity that may be sufficient for their crops. She said excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers was contaminating soil and water, and that technology could help address the issue. She added “So the sooner these technologies reach these sectors, the better it is for India. You will be optimally producing things and therefore adding to the growth”.
