1 GB data cheaper than bottle of cold drink in India: PM Modi tells Japanese businessmen

Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a visit to Japan on Monday hailed India's "tremendous progress" in the digital infrastructure, saying 1 GB data is cheaper than the smallest bottle of cold drink in the country. Modi, who arrived in Japan on Saturday to attend the 13th India-Japan annual summit, held a series of meetings on Monday with top Japanese leaders and addressed the Indian community.

He praised the expanding network of telecommunications and internet in India.

By 2022, India's digital economy is expected to grow to USD 1 trillion and lead to creation of 10 million jobs, according to consulting firm EY.

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, according to a report by Internet and Mobile Association of India.

"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," 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 said in a statement.

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

The 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.

The two-day summit seeks to review the progress in ties and deepen strategic dimension of the bilateral relationship.

Prime Minister Modi's pet 'Digital India' initiative seeks to improve online infrastructure by increasing Internet connectivity or by making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology.