Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged the downside of critical technologies and said India with its strong democratic credentials, with an accent on individual rights, was the best partner for other democracies.

The PM was delivering the keynote address at the Sydney Dialogue where Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had listed 63 critical technologies that would enable the Quad and AUKUS groupings to match China’s advances in technologies that could enable global economic and security dominance.

“Take cryptocurrency or bitcoin for example. It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in wrong hands, which can spoil our youth,” he said. India has unmatched experience in using digital technology in a democratic framework with strong guarantees for individual rights and the use of technology linked to values and vision, PM Modi said, using an idiom employed by US President Joe Biden and Morrison in their attempt to counter Chinese foray in critical technologies.