Patna, Sept. 5: Focusing on the concept of Digital India, Union minister of communication and information Ravi Shankar Prasad today highlighted the importance of technology in the field of education.

Addressing a conference on Saturday titled - Taleem Ki Taqat (Power of Education) - organised by the chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Zafar Sareshwala, Prasad said 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country were on the process of being digitally connected. He said the Digital India dream could be made possible only if all gram panchayats were digitally connected, if government services could be provided with a digital platform and if every Indian could be made aware of the power of the digital world. "Digital India will fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Muslim youths with a Quran in one hand and a computer in the other," he said .

"We have created the biggest infrastructure in India by laying over 70,000km of optic fibre till now. We dream that drivers, carpenters, and others would use smart phones to find employment one day," he said.

Vice-chancellor of Nagpur University J.S. Rajput praised the Skill India initiative of the Centre and emphasised the need and importance to provide the youth with appropriate skills and abilities to tackle global challenges.