Young India needs right eco-system to be nation of million startups: Mukesh Ambani

Young India, who account for almost 63 percent of total population and are bustling with entrepreneurial spirits and ideas, can transform India into a nation of million startups if provided with right tools and eco-system, said the richest man of the country, Mukesh Ambani.

“We must foster confidence in the society that new technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, IoTs, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and Nano-technology are all enablers of employment and wealth,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), on Wednesday at the first edition of the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi.

He urged India to build next-generation technology, as he predicted that 4G coverage in India will exceed that of 2G. RIL began its commercial operations last year with 4G services that attracted 100 million subscribers in less than six months. To start with, Jio offered a combination of free Internet access and free voice calls.

“Data is oxygen of a digital economy. We have to provide high-speed data with a minimum amount,” he added. Over the last one year, India has leapfrogged from the 155th position into number one in the world.

Speaking about India’s PM dream project Digital India, he said that everyone has to make an effort, a single organisation cannot do anything unless we make an effort in mass.

Number of Internet Users in India

The number of mobile users in India has reached around 420 million by June 2017 with the rural India growing at a much larger rate. Pre-paid smartphone users spend nearly 72% of their time to access the data online and merely spend 15% of the time on voice calls, a study of smartphone users by Internet and mobile association of India and Times Internet Limited has found.

Urban India with an estimated population of 444 million already has 269 million(60%) using the internet. Rural India, with an estimation population 906 million as per 2011 census, has only 163 million(17%) internet users only.