Raghunath Mashelkar and Anu Madgavkar-write about the irony that India, which produces solutions to many of the knottiest information-technology problems faced by the world’s largest companies, has benefited little from technological progress. Fortunately for India’s citizens, Prime Minister Narendra Modi intends to change that.
The gap between India and its emerging Asian counterpart China is significant. Whereas China has created the world’s largest online bazaar and become a global leader in renewable energy, India has just begun to explore the potential of e-commerce; IT remains beyond the scope of millions of small and medium-size enterprises; and most citizens remain cut off from the digital economy.
To bring India up to speed, Modi’s government announced in August a national digital initiative. The rapid decline in costs and increase in performance capabilities of a range of digital technologies including mobile Internet, cloud computing, and expert systems make large-scale adoption a distinct possibility in the coming decade.
These digital technologies together with genomics (supporting agricultural and medical and unconventional energy will enable financial inclusion for hundreds of millions of Indians and potentially redefine how services like education, food allocation, and health care are delivered.
Educational innovations could enable some 24 million workers to receive more years of education and find higher-paying employment. Mobile financial services will give 300 million Indians access to the financial system, allowing them to build credit. And precision agriculture can help 90 million farmers increase their output and reduce post-harvest losses, with access to timely market data bolstering their incomes.
Moreover, some 400 million Indians in poor rural areas can gain access to better health care in field clinics, where health workers can diagnose and treat some ailments using low-cost diagnostic tools, expert software, and online links to physicians. Finally, by digitizing government services, such as food-distribution programs for the poor, India could eliminate the leakage that diverts, according to our estimates, half of the food from intended recipients.
Even with low prices for devices and data plans relative to the rest of the world, Internet access in India remains beyond the grasp of close to a billion people. Indian policymakers should be working with the country’s tech industry and other private-sector actors to implement measures that would enable technology adoption.
Challenges to entrepreneurship, such as India’s cumbersome procedures for starting new businesses, should be removed. Scaling up for massive impact requires more than start-up innovation; it also demands a regulatory environment characterized by a liberal approach to pricing, manufacturing, and distribution.
Sustaining the benefits of technological adoption and innovation will require continued investment and adjustment to compensate for its disruptive effects.
With thoughtful planning, productive collaboration between public and private institutions, and capable execution, India’s government can clear the way for technological progress.
