New Delhi , Feb  17 : Lauding the performance of country's information technology (IT) industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said "when the chips were down, your (industry) core kept things running."

"At a time when every sector was affected due to corona, you achieved a 2 per cent growth. It is commendable if India's IT industry adds USD 4 billion to its revenue at a time when suspicions of de-growth were being cast," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM)'s Technology and Leadership Forum (NTLF). "By providing lakhs of jobs during the pandemic, the IT industry has once again proved itself why it is one of the strongest pillars of the country's economy," he added.

Noting that the world is looking at India with great \expectations, the Prime Minister said, "We should not think of ourselves as weak or move away fearing challenges. During COVID, our science and technology not only proved itself but has also evolved."
Talking about India's performance during the pandemic, Prime Minister said, "There was a time when we were dependent on other nations even for the smallpox vaccine. Now we are providing made in India corona vaccines to several countries."
The solutions, which India has provided to the world is inspiring, PM Modi added.