BHUBANESWAR, OCT 25 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said wars were no longer being fought only through conventional means but also by targeting economies, and underscored the need to protect India’s banking system from “cyber terrorists”.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Reserve Bank of India’s Rs 169-crore data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute here, he said the facilities would greatly benefit the people of Odisha and the country. “We all know that nowadays wars are not fought only with weapons. If a country is to be weakened, it can be done by attacking its economy. As India is becoming economically stronger, it is equally imperative that we protect our banking system from cyber robbers and cyber terrorists,” the prime minister said.
The nature of cyber threats is also changing, and the nation cannot face such new challenges with old systems, training systems and tools, he said.
To face the new challenge, the country needs modern infrastructure and skilled human resources, he said, adding that here comes the role of institutions like RBI’s data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute.
Noting that these new facilities reflect a new priority of India, Modi said eastern India is emerging as a powerful growth engine of ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India). Modi also launched a scathing attack on the opposition Congress, alleging that the masses were denied banking services during its rule. He said banks were nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s in the name of the poor, but in 2014, it was found that more than half of the country’s population was outside the banking ecosystem. He said bank loans were a dream even for the middle-class, while the poor, small farmers, and women could not even think about it.
“However, loans of thousands of crores of rupees were available for the rich and well-connected people over phone calls during the Congress rule. As a result of this mismanagement, India’s banking system became vulnerable to NPAs (non-performing assets). The banking system was on the brink of collapse,” the prime minister said.
He said things changed after the BJP came to power in 2014, and now India’s banking sector was among the most efficient in the world, with people having access to banking services round the clock.
Small entrepreneurs, traditional artisans, street vendors and workers in the unorganised sector have benefited from formal banking services for the first time, he said.
“A former PM had said from the soil of Odisha that for every rupee sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reaches the people. Today, the entire amount reaches the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Around 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened,” he added.
Debit and credit cards were earlier luxury items for the masses, but those are now available for all, he said.
“Development for us means balanced growth of India and opportunities for villages and small towns,” Modi said.
The past decade was about taking banking to those deprived of it. The coming decade is about making banking more efficient and reliable, he added.
The PM said Odisha will write its future in sectors from mines to microchips and many doors of opportunity will be opened for the youth.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Odisha Governor Brajmohan Ram, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, and Deputy CMs Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida were also present at the event.
Modi landed at Biju Patnaik International Airport here at 4.15 pm aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft. From the airport, he took a helicopter to Khurda, and then proceeded by road to the RBI facility.
The PM returned to the airport by road as people lined up the roads and he waved at them. He departed around 6.20 pm, officials said.
Police had made elaborate security arrangements, deploying around 2,100 personnel for the PM’s visit, they said.
Reacting to the PM’s “phone banking” jibe against the Congress, state party unit chief president Bhakta Charan Das alleged that the BJP government has been resorting to “invisible looting” of people.
“In the name of digital banking, a tax is effectively being levied upon the poor. Crores of rupees are being deducted from the accounts of ordinary, poor people — be it for failing to maintain a minimum balance, using ATMs, or conducting digital transactions. This is not truly digital banking, rather an invisible pickpocketing of the people,” the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president said in a statement.
Das alleged that several financial scams took place in recent years. He also alleged that ordinary, innocent people, including senior citizens, were falling prey to cyber frauds due to a “faulty” digital banking system.
Sitharaman, on the other hand, said that Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has become the world’s largest real-time payment system, with monthly transactions exceeding Rs 2,400 crore.
Addressing the gathering, she said, “This RBI campus will house mission-critical payment systems, including RTGS and NEFT. Its training institute and research wing will build expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and data centre technologies.”
She hailed Modi’s ‘Purvodaya’ policy and said, “We will ensure that there is ‘Purvodaya se Sarvodaya’: when the East rises, its light reaches all of India.”
She said the PM had resolved that no Indian household would remain outside the banking system.
“Banking facilities have been provided to the last man in the line; over 59 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened. Through Jan Dhan accounts, money is transferred directly to people, without leakages,” she added.
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