India’s technological opportunity

In addition to cloud-based services, automation of knowledge work, digital payments and verifiable digital identity, mobile internet can form the basis of remote healthcare, adaptive learning, mobile services agricultural extension and other innovative services.

The value estimate was given taking into account the additional productivity, time, cost and energy savings, as well as the benefits that these technologies could produce.

“We believe that from an economic perspective, these 12 technologies will have the greatest impact on the growth of India’s GDP (gross domestic product) over the next 10 years. Some of the revolutions are happening right now, laying the foundation for these technologies to impact India. The Digital India program which has been announced by the Indian government makes the adoption of these technologies a huge opportunity, not just an aspiration, ”said Noshir Kaka, Managing Director, India, McKinsey et Cie.

In addition to digital technologies, the report highlighted that rapid advances in energy (unconventional oil and gas, renewables, storage), genomics, advanced geographic information systems (GIS), and transportation and Smart distribution would also help improve the standard of living of millions of Indians. by raising education levels and improving health outcomes.

The estimated impact is based on an analysis of more than 40 high-impact technological applications in seven sectors of the economy which are fi nancial services, education, health care, agriculture, energy, infrastructure. and government services. “We looked at the end productivity of all of these technologies and extended it to the whole economy. The number of people who could benefit from these technologies is very impressive, ”said Anu Madgavkar, senior fellow at MGI, who produced the report. “Technology is starting to get smart and jobs will soon be automated. The nature of what humans do will change. Between 19 and 29 million non-agricultural people will have to reshape their jobs and retrain, ”she added. She added that up to 10 million “knowledge-intensive jobs” could be filled by less skilled workers.

At the launch of the report, the experts recognized that there are many obstacles and challenges that need to be overcome for these technologies to realize their potential.

“There are clearly some gaps that need to be filled first. The lack of infrastructure, material and material, is the most obvious, and then there is the lack of digital culture, ”said R. Chandrashekhar, president of Nasscom, the software lobby group. “In terms of revenue and affordability, the telecommunications revolution has been driven by innovative business models adopted by telecommunications companies. But if you are to reach all segments, the costs must come down and a lot of action is needed at the industry level. We need to make sure that the use of technology is incentivized and that using a digital version of the services is beneficial to people. “

In June 2013, MGI released a report highlighting 12 disruptive technologies that are changing the world, including mobile internet, knowledge and work automation, internet of things, cloud technology, advanced robotics, autonomous and near-autonomous vehicles, next generation genomics, energy storage, 3D printing, advanced materials, advanced oil and gas exploration and recovery, and renewable energy.

After many requests, MGI decided to work on an India specific report that showcased most of these technologies and others such as digital payments and verifiable digital identities. The report says digital identity systems can help ensure government programs reach intended beneficiaries, reducing the leakage that today robs about 50% of benefits from some social assistance programs.