FINAL

1138 words

SPECIAL ADDRESS

INDIAN MOBILE CONGRESS

INAUGURAL SESSION

MUKESH D. AMBANI

25th October 2018

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Honourable Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji, Shri Manoj

Sinhaji,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very warm good morning.

Dear Friends,

Today, we are living in an India of unprecedented hope and

promise…

…An India that is poised to embrace an immensely exciting

future.

Just one data point…

In my lifetime, I have always been told that India has the largest

number of extremely poor people in the world.

But that is NO longer the case today.

A World Bank report indicates…

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that India will have fewer than 3% of its population living under

extreme poverty by 2021.

As per a United Nations report…

as many as 271 million people have been liberated from the

prison of poverty in the last decade alone.

This is a truly historic achievement and the credit rightly belongs

to all our citizens.

Today…

India is among the fastest growing large economies in the

world.

This has happened due to a combination of force-multiplying

factors.

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Most notable among these is the visionary leadership of our

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji.

During the past five years… he has galvanised India.

He has launched more number of transformative initiatives…

than in a comparable period anywhere in the world.

An equally important factor is the contribution of Indian

entrepreneurs… especially those in the telecom, IT and digital

space.

Never before has India witnessed such an explosion of

entrepreneurial spirit.

India has moved from 155th rank in mobile broadband

penetration…

to being the number 1 nation in mobile data consumption in the

world… in less than two years.

This is the fastest transition anywhere in the world from 2G/3G

to 4G.

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By 2020, I believe that India will be a fully-4G country… and

ready for 5G ahead of others.

Every phone in India will be a 4G enabled phone… and every

customer will have access to 4G connectivity.

At Jio, we are committed to connecting everyone and

everything… everywhere… always with the highest quality and

the most affordable price.

Friends,

What gives me special satisfaction is the silent revolution taking

place in Rural India.

I am personally excited about the promise and prospect of

bringing Digital Revolution to India’s villages…

to agriculture and rural enterprises…

to women… and to marginalized communities everywhere.

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I am equally excited about connecting millions of small shop

keepers in India.

The Digital Connectivity Revolution can transform Rural India

most comprehensively.

In the past eight months alone… as many as 50 million villagers

have got affordable smartphones.

For most of them… it is not only their pehla phone…

but also their pehla radio and music player…

pehla TV…

pehla camera…

and pehla Internet in their lives.

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Imagine what this 5-in-1 means for the aspirational explosion

in India.

And imagine how it can transform India when it becomes 6-in-

1… with Indians getting the revolutionary power of pehla

Artificial Intelligence in their hands.

All this at only 100 rupees per month.

This combination of connectivity with affordability is unparalleled

in the world.

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Government’s

BharatNet program in providing high-quality connectivity in some

of the remotest areas of our country.

This transformation will accelerate as we get ready for a 5G

world… driven by the pro-active approach of the Government.

Today at the IMC, you can experience 5G and its various use-

cases in our pavilion.

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Friends,

With JioGigaFiber… We have now begun an ambitious push in

fixed broadband… through Fiber-to-the-home and premise.

Jio is committed to building a deep-fibre network across the

country… and ensuring that every premise is connected with the

highest quality network.

All of us are proud that India has become the world’s largest

mobile data consuming nation.

We now have a similar opportunity to replicate this success in

fixed broadband as well.

I believe India will rise from a lowly 135th rank… to be amongst

the top three nations in fixed broadband… at a pace that will

surprise the world.

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And from day one… JioGigaFiber will offer complete fixed-

mobile convergence…

where Indians will travel seamlessly between mobile and fixed

broadband networks…

4G and 5G when on the move… and Wi-Fi when indoors.

Friends,

We can together create a period of unprecedented growth,

empowerment, employment and prosperity for everyone across

our great nation…

… In a future that will be shaped by the FOURTH INDUSTRIAL

REVOLUTION…

… A future founded on the robust pillars of connectivity,

computing and data…

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… A future powered by path-breaking digital technologies like

Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Blockchain, Internet of Things,

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality…

…A future of exponential growth and immense opportunities for

130 crore connected Indians.

This Revolution will open the floodgates of limitless possibilities

for India… and Indians… especially young Indians.

I assure you that our Industry will play the role of a catalyst in this

mission of propelling our nation towards this bright future.

We have to be mindful that data is the most important resource

in this new world.

And India and Indians will generate humungous amount of data.

It is important that we utilise this rich-resource for the benefit of

India and Indians, with adequate safeguards.

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With universal connectivity and extreme affordability, our Prime

Minister’s inspiring idea of EASE OF LIVING for all can now be

realised.

With world-class digital infrastructure in place… India is now

ready to not only embrace… but actually lead the Fourth

Industrial Revolution.

This is because, each one of the 130 crore people of India… can

now productively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

We can solve the largest unsolved problems facing humanity…

right here in India.

Let me mention only four.

First: The Fourth Industrial Revolution can realise the Prime

Minister’s promise of doubling the incomes of 150 million Indian

farmers.

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Second: It can realise the AYUSHMAN BHARAT scheme’s

promise of bringing healthcare to 500 million people ─ the largest

health insurance initiative in the world.

Third: It can bring quality education to 200 million students in

Indian schools and colleges.

Fourth… and not the least… it can create more jobs with the

digitally-connected and AI-powered marketplace of small

merchants and small enterprises ─ which I call NEW

COMMERCE for NEW INDIA.

India will demonstrate the greatest digital transformation in

people’s lives in world history.

Friends,

India will be among the largest digital markets in the world.

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Every enterprise must have an 'India First' vision to participate

in this market.

We will need to reinvent to grow and nurture this market to its full

potential.

This will be a win-win for the entire industry… for India… and for

the entire world.

To achieve this… we need a grand coalition – of everyone in the

industry, government, civil society and the citizens.

I strongly believe that India will enable every citizen to realise her

fullest potential… on the back of this grand coalition.

May God bless our great nation… India.

Thank you!

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