‘Lifted 80 crore out of poverty’: UN Praises Indian Digital Revolution

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis has praised India for lifting 800 million people out of poverty “simply by the use of smartphones” at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome.

Francis highlighted India in an example as he lectured on the topic, ‘Accelerating Progress Towards Zero Hunger’, notably on the uses of digital technology as a model for poverty alleviation.

He said, “Digitalisation provides the basis for rapid development (of a country). Take, for example, the case of India.”

Francis explained how digital connectivity and financial inclusion in India are very important as most of the 800 million individuals who are unsure where their next meal will come from have a cell phone, which is a big change from other regions of the Global South.

"However, this is not the case in many parts of the Global South. So, there needs to be demands for fairness. Efforts and initiatives are needed to address this inequality as a first step in negotiating the global framework for digitization," he added.

Francis explained how rural farmers in India, who previously had no access to banking, can now do all their business on their smartphones. They pay bills and receive payments for orders, taking advantage of high internet penetration and widespread cellphone use in India.

Social Media Reaction:

Internet users are reacting positively to the news while some users are slamming opposition parties for downplaying India's digital progress.

One user wrote, "For members of rotten opposition politicians. UN General Assembly acknowledges that nearly 800 million Indian moved out of poverty because of digital revolution supported by cell phone network."

Another user commented, "Give this to the Rahuls, th Taroor and the INDI gang."

A third user replied, "President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, lavished praise on #India for its work in this direction, which has lifted 800 million out of poverty in the last 5-6 years. But, @narendramodi not liked by @RahulGandhi"