'1 GB data cheaper in India than small bottle of cold drink', says PM Modi during his Japan visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India's "tremendous progress" in the digital infrastructure on Monday. PM Modi, who arrived in Tokyo on Saturday, October 27 to attend the 13th India-Japan annual summit, said that '1 GB data is cheaper than the small bottle of cold drink in the country'.

He praised the expanding network of telecommunications and internet in India. He held a series of meetings with top Japanese leaders and addressed the Indian community.

"Today India is making tremendous progress in the field of digital infrastructure. Broadband connectivity is reaching villages, over 100 crore mobile phones are active in India,"  PM Modi told the Indian diaspora.

"1 GB is cheaper than a small bottle of cold drink. This data is becoming the tool for service delivery," he added.

According to a consulting firm EY, 'by 2022, India's digital economy is expected to grow to USD 1 trillion and lead to creation of 10 million jobs'. The internet services sector in India is expected to reach USD 76.4 billion in 2022, up by 44 per cent from its current valuation of USD 33.8 billion, as per reports by Internet and Mobile Association of India.

Meanwhile, PM Modi also lauded the Indian diaspora for introducing Kabbadi and Cricket in Japan, an island, where martial art is very popular.

Read: PM Narendra Modi Urges Japanese Businessmen To Engage More With India

Earlier, Prime Minister interacted with some respectable Japanese venture capitalists. He also interacted with top business leaders from the two countries at a forum and asked Japanese businessmen to engage more with India.

"Make in India has emerged as a global brand today. We are manufacturing quality products not only for India but for the world. India is becoming a global hub, especially in the field of electronics and automobile manufacturing. We are rapidly moving towards becoming number one in mobile phones manufacturing," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing an Indian Community Event here as part of the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit.

The two-day summit seeks to review the progress in ties and deepen strategic dimension of the bilateral relationship between India-Japan. Prime Minister Modi's 'Digital India' initiative seeks to improve online infrastructure by increasing Internet connectivity or by making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology.

(With inputs from PTI)