E-education, Work from home to be the new normal: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Talking to BJP MP Rajya Sabha Sudhanshu Trivedi, Union Minister for IT and Communication Ravi Shankar Prasad said that it will not only bring changes in day-to-day activities but also major changes will be seen in the field of medicine, education and work culture globally.

New Delhi: Stating that the world will not be the same once the pandemic is over, Union Minister for IT and Communication Ravi Shankar Prasad said that it will not only bring changes in day-to-day activities but also major changes will be seen in the field of medicine, education and work culture globally.

Talking to BJP MP Rajya Sabha Sudhanshu Trivedi in a conversation hosted by the saffron party, Union Minister appreciated the efforts of postmen during crisis who have delivered over 700 tonnes of medicines including life-saving drugs to senior citizens and transferred over 1300 crore via AADHAR enabled payment services.

"Over 11 crore people have downloaded the Arogya Setu app introduced by the IT department to connect essential health services with people of India to fight COVID-19," the minister said, insisting that the data is safe and secure in the app.

On the issue of migrants, he advised state governments to prepare a data and maintain a record of people coming back to their native states and asked them to note their details and skills which can be used in future to train them and develop that sector.

"Technology is playing a key role in changing the face of education, medicine and work environment in the country. Even the apex court is hearing cases via video conferencing. 85 per cent of IT firms are operating from home," the minister said.

Prasad said that the Indian government aims to make the country the next electronics manufacturing hub of the world and to fulfil this, Rs 50 thousand crores are allocated.

"India had only two mobile phone factories but today the number is over 200. To further escalate the electronics manufacture, the government has introduced schemes to provide incentives to global players. It has also introduced a scheme to promote the manufacturing of electronic components and semiconductors. Medical Electronics manufacturing is another field where India can lead. The manufacture of medical equipment like MRI, X-ray machines etc is encouraged," he added.

Targeting political opponents, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the opportunities to do politics will come in future but now all leaders should unite to fight COVID-19.