Bhubaneswar: Praising Odisha government for its BharatNetra initiative, President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said it will go a long way in building a future-ready workforce and innovation ecosystem in digital, financial and insurance technology sectors.
The President said this while gracing the Black Swan Summit India, organised by the Odisha government in collaboration with Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), in Bhubaneswar.
Advancing skill development, establishing global capability centres, and enhancing innovation capacity are investments in human capital, said Murmu, expressing happiness that over Odisha launching BharatNetra initiative for building a future-ready workforce.
Highlighting the rapid advancement in technology and the scopes as well as challenges associated with it, the President expressed confidence that discussions and collaborations that emerge from this Summit will be of transformative effect not only for Odisha but also for India and the world.
“Technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace. New innovations arrive so rapidly that our systems, skills, and business models often struggle to keep up. At the same time, these rapid advancements can also bring serious challenges, including cybersecurity threats, deepfakes, misinformation, and an increasing dependence on technology,” she said.
However, the rapid technological changes have a huge positive impact on innovation and growth. Through events like Black Swan Summit, innovative methods can be explored to leverage technologies for further enhancing capabilities through skilling, generate employment and accelerate the digital and financial transformation, Murmu said.
“In the past decade, India has witnessed an impactful revolution in the financial system. Direct benefit transfer into bank accounts and the digital payments have become very common among farmers, small shopkeepers and women. For them, ‘FinTech’ is not a technical term, it has become their lifeline,” she said.
President Murmu said India’s FinTech story should be remembered not only as a tale of technology but also as that of gender justice. Women constitute an important segment that requires focused attention for the promotion of FinTech.
FinTech ecosystem must view them not only as end users but as leaders, professionals, and entrepreneurs. For every new platform, product, or policy, it needs to be evaluated if it makes women active participants in the digital and financial ecosystem.
She urged entrepreneurs and innovators to ensure that technology becomes a tool for social justice and inclusion. The President said that technology has a huge potential for making positive impact on all sectors of economy and all sections of society. However, at times it can be misused for financial frauds.
“It is pertinent to enhance awareness among people to be vigilant and alert to prevent such frauds. The Centre has undertaken various measures to prevent and report such frauds including setting up of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System and Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre. Ensuring digital and financial literacy is essential to deter online financial fraud. It needs to be made part of school curricula so that the advantages and disadvantages of technology can be understood at a young age,” she stated.
