India and the Global Digital Transformation

As digital capabilities improve and connectivity becomes more ubiquitous, technology is poised to rapidly and dramatically alter nearly every sector of India's economy.

'Digital transformation' has progressed from a boardroom buzzword to a critical strategic priority, but the industry is still in its infancy.
According to IDC, global investment in digital transformation will grow at a compound annual rate of 17.1 per cent, reaching a staggering $2.3 trillion (53 per cent of all ICT spending) by 2023. The United States will be the largest spenders in the digital transformation space, followed by Europe, China and India.

As the silicon chip's reach permeates almost everything we do, from buying groceries online to finding a partner on a dating website, digital platforms are recasting relationships between customers, workers, and employers. As computing power improves dramatically and more people worldwide join the digital economy, we must think carefully about how to design policies that will allow us to fully reap the benefits of the digital revolution while minimising job dislocation.

Today's technological revolution holds enormous promise, but it also brings with it new challenges. As we enter the new decade, it is clear that we are still a long way from realising the full potential of technology to address our most difficult challenges.

We are entering a new era in which powerful Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are being infused into the world around us at an exponential rate. As organisations and countries race to harness new technologies to boost growth and competitiveness, we are at a critical juncture in putting these technologies to work responsibly for people and the planet.
The pace and scope of technological advancements in recent years alone have been enormous. In the last two years, 90 per cent of the world's data has been created; Artificial Intelligence can now detect more than 50 eye diseases better than a doctor; the first fully electric aircraft completed a successful Virgin voyage, and 5G is no longer a potential future, but a reality in many countries.

How India is reshaping itself in the age of digital globalisation

Indian consumers have embraced digital technologies wholeheartedly. Now it is up to Indian businesses to follow suit. With over 500 million internet users, India is one of the largest and fastest-growing digital consumer markets, but business adoption is uneven. As digital capabilities improve and connectivity becomes more ubiquitous, technology is poised to rapidly and dramatically alter nearly every sector of India's economy. This is likely to have a significant economic impact and change the nature of work for millions of Indians.

When the world imposed sanctions on Russia's various digital platforms, we realised the significance of India's Self Reliant India initiative. The in-house developed Rupay card and UPI system is gaining traction, but it needs to be globalised.

It is estimated that videos, social networking, and gaming account for roughly 80% of all Internet traffic. Global data traffic is expected to increase from 230 exabytes in 2020 to 780 exabytes by 2026. The digital advertising and marketing market is expected to reach $780 billion by 2026.

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant asserted that leveraging Digital India for digital transformation to drive the manufacturing sector on the back of AI, cloud computing, IoT, blockchains, and robotics can generate $1 trillion in economic value from the digital economy by 2025, up from $200 billion currently.

The digital global economy, which was worth 11.5 trillion dollars in 2016, could now be worth 15 trillion dollars. It is now time for India to capitalise on this massive global market opportunity, especially since the world has a more favourable attitude toward India than China. Though the government is putting in extra effort, as evidenced by the rise in mobile manufacturing and other electronic devices, the spread of internet network in every village, and strong software growth, looking at the local and global market in the coming years, the government at the central and state levels, as well as industries, should synchronise their energy to capture the local and global market. Start-ups, Unicorns, and companies focusing on R&D should be given top priority.

The sectors that require the most attention are as follows:

eCommerce
Digital Media
Digital Advertising
FinTech
Smart Home
App
Digital Health
eServices
Mobility Services
Devices
Data Centers
Software
IT Services
Public Cloud
Consumer Electronics

The world must maintain awareness that digital development should not cause further harm to humanity or the environment; the world is already suffering on both fronts.

The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) could not be a better frame for where we need to point the power of new technologies. It is now up to us – large and small technology companies, industry, policymakers, citizens, and consumers alike – to use this power for good before we run out of time.