Global Norms required for Crypto and Social Media; PM Modi

New Delhi – Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the strength and spirit of Indian democracy while addressing the Summit for Democracy organised by the United States. He said that democracy is not only for the people and by the people, but the true strength of democracy is the spirit and ethos that lies within our citizens and our societies. PM Modi emphasised the need of having global norms and regulations for new technologies like social media and cryptocurrencies to uphold the strength of democracy. This is the second instance within three months wherein PM Modi has warned the democratic countries about cryptocurrencies.

US President Joe Biden has convened a summit of democracies for a two-day conference virtually attended by heads of state from more than a hundred countries. Prime Minister Modi on Saturday addressed democratic countries around the world through this conference. He said that the basic strength of democracy is our people and our morality.

Prime Minister Modi emphasised the importance of the spirit of democracy and the code of conduct that made ancient India prosperous. Despite being ruled by colonialists for a few centuries, the spirit of democracy among Indians was never suppressed, which is the real strength of India’s democracy. Prime Minister Modi offered to provide the necessary skills to help other countries conduct free and open elections with the help of technology.

The Prime Minister stressed the need to set global standards for new-age technologies such as social media and cryptocurrency. He said that it would be better if it were used to strengthen democracy rather than to rattle it. At the Sydney Dialogue last month, the Prime Minister had warned the democratic countries to ensure that cryptocurrencies do not fall into the wrong hands. Prime Minister Modi appealed for taking measures to prevent the youth from drifting on to the wrong path.