Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost
Much as we love Robert Frost’s poetry, the one area where one of his most beloved works, “The Road Not Taken”, would not be applicable is India’s technology roadmap. Because for years our governments, policymakers and industry have always picked the easier of the two diverging roads – supplying to existing demand.
Meanwhile, the less travelled road which would lead to creation of new demand and get the non-urban population to adopt technology, suffered as there wasn’t any focus on creation of meaningful solutions that would draw them in. Policies to promote local manufacturing and distribution hence hampered because there wasn’t enough demand being
created.
Having built his credentials (and his election victory) on the back of a robust understanding of technology, I hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi will realise the choice between promoting
demand or supply is not enough. India needs both.
The Fifth T
Technology was one of the “Five T’s” Modi said he would rely on to build Brand India, the others being talent, tradition, tourism and trade. I would look at technology as a universal foundation or glue that connects together all significant efforts of the Modi government in its first term. Sadly, after showing the world how to leapfrog telecom technologies at scale, India has fallen back on the technology adoption charts. Our broadband penetration and bandwidth is woeful. Large swathes of our population have no access to technology. And while there are pockets of excellence in government services being offered, it is by no means universally available or reliable.
But the world won’t wait forever, and India’s time is now.
Fixing the creation-to-consumption chain
It is useful to think of technology as a data cable that connects businesses and governments to consumers and citizens. In order for it to work, we must have three working parts—working connectors on either ends (creation and consumption) and reliable connectivity (technology infrastructure) in between. Miss one, and the cable won’t work well. Here’s what we need to do to fix each one.
Creation: Start at the beginning. Make it easy for companies to do business in India with the right policies and regulatory framework. Keep it simple, clear and stable. Provide a long-term direction and guided incentives for firms of all sizes to conduct R&D from India and not just manufacturing orsales. If India can leapfrog the wired-to-wireless telecom gap, there’s no reason why we must remain hobbled by our current manufacturing setup when it comes to doing R&D or innovation. Encourage innovation and risk taking to think beyond current technologies. Accept failure…it happens.
Governments are one of the biggest drivers of technology and can shape its evolution for a country. Two ministries that deserve special attention are healthcare and agriculture, because both can have disproportionate impact on millions of citizen’s lives. Tie the innovation to the needs in these areas.
Consumption: Thanks to Indian mobile telecom, we now know that Indians will readily adopt technologies and devices that are relevant and affordable. To spur sustained technology consumption, we should first ensure our children and youth are not just literate, but digitally literate.
At the next level, the government needs to incentivise and promote content in local languages. India is unlike most large developed or developing countries in the world because we have a multitude of local languages. We need technology that talks to our citizens in their own context and language.
Infrastructure: This is the pipe that connects creators and consumers. Considering the (exponential) rate at which technology adoption and consumption evolves, our infrastructure must be well thought-through. We need a National Broadband Highway —to provide a reliable pan-India IT backbone. On the wireless side we need spectrum policies that provide a long-term roadmap for auctions, frequency bands and usage conditions.
At the city level we need dozens more “smart cities” where technology underpins every sphere of life—from government services to urban planning to traffic management to healthcare. Special care must be paid to schools and colleges and how they can be networked and connected.
Given Prime Minister Modi’s penchant for technology, I am confident he will address the entire creation-to-consumption chain. The industry is ready to walk hand-in-hand to make it happen.
Debjani Ghosh
MD, Sales & Marketing Group
Intel South Asia
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