New Delhi, March 9 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India is steadily moving toward an innovation-driven economy and stressed the need to strengthen links between education, technology and employment while ensuring inclusive opportunities for all sections of society.
Addressing a post-Budget webinar via video conferencing on the theme “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas – Fulfilling Aspirations of People,” the Prime Minister highlighted the government’s focus on preventive healthcare, skill development and sports as key pillars of national development.
”India today is working with a vision of preventive and holistic health,” Modi said, noting that the country’s healthcare ecosystem has significantly strengthened in recent years.
He pointed to the expansion of medical education and public health services across the country.
“Over the past few years, the country’s health infrastructure has become stronger. Hundreds of districts now have new medical colleges, and through the Ayushman Bharat scheme and Arogya Mandirs, access to healthcare services has been expanded to villages across the country,” he said.
The Prime Minister also referred to the growing global interest in India’s traditional wellness systems.
“Our traditions of yoga and Ayurveda are becoming popular all over the world,” he said, underlining the role of traditional knowledge systems in promoting holistic healthcare.
Emphasising the need to align education with emerging economic opportunities, Modi said the country must move faster in connecting its education system to the real-world economy.
“We must accelerate the process of linking our education system with the real-world economy. We need to increase our focus on areas such as AI and automation, the digital economy, and design-driven manufacturing,” he said, adding that India is steadily progressing toward an innovation-driven economic model.
Highlighting the importance of inclusivity in technological advancement, the Prime Minister said access to opportunities must reach every section of society.
“As we prepare for futuristic technologies, it is extremely important that no daughter is forced to stop due to a lack of opportunities,” he said.
Modi also underscored the role of sports in nation-building, noting that it has increasingly been recognised as a vital component of development policy.
“In recent years, sports have been seen as an important pillar of national development. Initiatives like Khelo India have given new energy to the country’s sports ecosystem,” he said, adding that sports infrastructure is being strengthened across the country.
The webinar forms part of the government’s broader effort to translate the announcements made in the union Budget into actionable strategies across key sectors of the economy. The event brought together policymakers, industry leaders, domain experts and other stakeholders to deliberate on implementing the priorities outlined in the budget and ensuring that policy initiatives move quickly from announcement to execution.
Such consultations have become a regular feature of the government’s post-budget outreach in recent years, aimed at strengthening engagement with industry and experts.
Officials said the discussions are intended to build consensus around policy goals while identifying practical pathways for implementing the government’s development agenda.
Under the overarching theme of inclusive growth, the programme included multiple breakout sessions covering sectors such as education and skilling, health and AYUSH, and tourism and hospitality.
The discussions are expected to focus on strengthening the link between education and employment, expanding skill development initiatives and creating opportunities in emerging industries likely to shape the future workforce.
Among the initiatives under discussion is the development of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) content creator labs, which are being promoted as part of India’s push to build a globally competitive digital creative ecosystem.
The initiative aims to encourage innovation, support young creators and position India as a major hub in the rapidly growing global creative technology industry.
Healthcare is another major focus of the deliberations. Sessions are exploring ways to expand the pool of allied health professionals and caregiver training programmes, along with proposals to develop regional medical hubs that could strengthen healthcare infrastructure and improve access to specialised services across different parts of the country. Expansion of institutions under the traditional medicine framework of the Ministry of AYUSH is also expected to be part of the policy dialogue.
Tourism and hospitality have been identified as another key growth area. Officials said discussions include strategies for hospitality skill development, the creation of sustainable tourism trails and the promotion of heritage tourism across regions.
Plans to strengthen the Buddhist tourism circuit in the North-Eastern region are also expected to be examined as part of the government’s broader effort to leverage cultural and spiritual heritage to boost tourism and regional development.
