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'The One Who Controls Data, Will Be The World Leader,' Says PM Modi At World Economic Forum
'The One Who Controls Data, Will Be The World Leader,' Says PM Modi At World Economic Forum

'The One Who Controls Data, Will Be The World Leader,' Says PM Modi At World Economic Forum

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Key takeaways

  • PM Modi emphasised that data represents real wealth and will determine future global hegemony.
  • He highlighted the dual nature of global data flow, presenting both opportunities and challenges.
  • Modi invited global investors to India, promoting its potential to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025.
  • The Prime Minister outlined a development agenda focused on necessary structural reforms.
5 min
[caption id="attachment_20933" align="alignleft" width="1620"]narendra modi Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the World Economic Form meet.[/caption] Echoing world leaders and their outlook towards the shift in technology, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that data is the real wealth. Speaking at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, PM Modi said, "Today, data is a real wealth and it is being said that whoever acquires and controls the data will have hegemony in the future. The global flow of data is creating big opportunities as well as challenges." Adding that technology-driven transformation deeply affected people's way of thinking, working as well as international groups, politics, and economy, he added, “...Data is a huge asset but the flow of global data is creating the biggest opportunities and the greatest challenges.” Inviting global investors to India, PM Modi on Tuesday also said that the country was set to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025, riding on its vast market and strong and stable fundamentals. "Our present development agenda is based on five pillars. First and foremost, we do understand that our systems need to change. Hence, we are persisting with far reaching structural reforms. Thus, our first pillar is our mantra of reform, perform and transform," he said. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to have visited Davos in 21 years, the former being HD Deve Gowda, who had attended the prestigious event way back in 1997. "In 1997, HD Deve Gowda attended the WEF meeting in Davos. That forum's vision was about building of network society. Then there was no Euro; very few people knew about Osama bin Laden; Google was not invented, if someone would search Amazon on Internet then search results would throw information about rivers and forests. Tweeting was the work of birds," PM Modi said, drawing a comparison. [embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/BeQvwsUAIkQ/?hl=en&taken-by=narendramodi[/embed] Some parts of his speech, which were construed as a swipe against US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, referred to globalisation, economic co-operation and taking a joint action climate change. PM Modi said, “Instead of globalisation, the power of protectionism is putting its head up. Their wish is not only to save themselves from globalisation, but to change the natural flow of globalisation.” Under his America First agenda, Trump has threatened to withdraw from the North American free-trade agreement, disavowed the global climate change accord and criticised global institutions including the United Nations and NATO. You can read his entire translated speech here on the website of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
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