BW About The Day: National Technology Day 2023: History, Theme And Relevance

After food, shelter and clothing, technology has fast emerged as one of the fundamentals for lives beyond nations and geographical boundaries. We wake up with technology, live with it throughout the day and do not sleep without it. The intervention of technology has facilitated human life in many ways; it saves time, helps humans to work with efficiency and provide more sources for informed decision-making. It cannot be denied that technology is a catalyst in economic development across the globe. As a famous Indian Scientist and Former President of India, A P J Abdul Kalam said that with the power of technology, Indian youngsters should dream big for the country. 

The world recently witnessed the spectre of the pandemic but technology came up as the messiah to save the world and keep it going. Technology assisted every sector to do the the needful during the pandemic. It helped students to keep their education going and it became the medium to boost the payment system when distancing was a necessity. 

Especially for a country like India which has a vast demographic structure, technology has abundantly contributed to saving lives and making them efficacious beyond every obstruction. 

History 

National Technology Day has a prestigious history. On the same day in 1998, India successfully conducted five nuclear tests at Pokhran (Rajasthan). Earlier, India had attempted these nuclear tests in 1974 with the name ‘Smiling Buddha’ which failed eventually. Eminent Scientist and former President of India, A P J Abdul Kalam led the operation of the Pokhran nuclear test. 

After the success of these nuclear tests, then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared 11 May as National Technology Day to celebrate the efforts of scientists, engineers and technological advancement in the country. 

Relevance 

In one of the events dedicated to digital India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said  “With the passage of time, the country which does not adopt modern technology, time moves ahead leaving it behind. India was a victim of this during the Third Industrial Revolution. But today we can proudly say that India is guiding the world in the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0."

The statement from the Prime Minister is indicative of India’s strong position in the technological landscape that is consistently evolving. According to the data from Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the rank of India in the Global Innovation Index is getting elevated. 

The report also highlighted that India's IT spending will grow 7 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to reach USD 101.8 billion in 2022, compared to USD 81.89 billion in 2021. Technology does not just make lives easy but also provides a humongous amount of jobs opportunities.

Theme 

Every year a new theme is declared to celebrate National Technology Day. This year, the theme has been decided as “Integrated Approach in Science and Technology for a sustainable future”. This theme emphasises on utilising technology to create a sustainable future. The absence of human intervention is one more side of technological advancement, this issue has been hugely debated in the intellectual corridor. The theme revolves around bringing more human intervention in controlling technology. 'Technology-driven' is the aspiration but the driver should be a human. That is the necessity for a sustainable future.