Fareed Zakaria, the host of CNN’s show Fareed Zakaria GPS, recently visited India and shared few observations from his trip with Zakka Jacob, Managing Editor, CNN-News18. Speaking on India’s progress in the past few years, Zakaria hailed the digital revolution driven by Jio in the country.
Zakaria lauded India’s growth, singling out three key ongoing revolutions driving the country forward: Aadhar, Jio, and physical infrastructure capabilities.
Elaborating on the Jio revolution, Zakaria said, “Earlier, the number of Indians connected to the internet was astonishingly low because broadband fiber, laying of cable lines in India was very difficult. Jio completely leapfrogged this by connecting Indians to the internet via 4G and cheap smartphones at very low prices. And so, India went from 121st on data usage, to now being No.1 and it’s larger than No.2 China and No.3 USA put together.”
Commending Mukesh Ambani’s vision, ambition and execution, he added, “Jio is a 40 plus billion dollar bet, largest bet and largest investment ever made by an Indian private sector company and it’s paid off. If you look at the IPL numbers, they are extraordinary and the sophistication with which IPL is being transmitted – with 6 camera angles, 14 languages – is innovative by global standards.”
Zakaria hailed Jio as an example of India’s potential to lead the world in technology and innovation.
