Newer technologies needed for ‘Digital Bharat 2020’
The government wants more indigenously developed software products for the soon to be launched National digital platforms in sectors like agriculture, education, healthcare and logistics using latest technologies
“We are moving forward to the actual rollout of National digital platforms in many sectors,” Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT told a webinar ‘Digital Bharat 2020: Digital-The New Normal’.
It was organized by FICCI, jointly with the Ministry of Electronics and IT and MyGov, on 28 July 2020.
“Each one of them could be a factory of innovation and with the use of newer technologies, incubation of new products and services, it will benefit all,” he said.
The use of IT within the government has increased, especially in e-governance, he pointed out.
The government has launched a series of projects at the National, state and local levels.
“It is time to bring all these together. Each of these projects is generating a humungous amount of data. While each project is complete in itself, the real strength of what we have comes alive when we knit them together, we can add scale to it to meet the National demand and requirements.
“As we knit them together and take industry and other stakeholders along, there will be a lot of opportunities which will be unlocked,” he elaborated.
Sawhney also emphasized on the need for developing more software products in India.
“India has strength in IT and IT-enabled services, and we have large global and Indian companies operating in India and they continue to grow during these times.” These are captive companies designing, R&D for products not just for India but for the globe.
“We are trying to move from IT products to software products. We have a policy on National software products as well. The pandemic has given us the realization that we need more software products from India.
“The area of software products is one where we have been dependent on imports. It is time to change and have software products of our own not just for India, but for a global market,” said Sawhney.
Elaborating on the potential of electronics manufacturing in India, he said mobile manufacturing has been especially revived in the sector in the last six years.
“Currently, we have schemes attracting large scale investments for not just meeting the Indian requirements but also for export markets as well.
“There are immense possibilities in the medical devices sector, automotive electronics, components, in defence, consumer and industrial electronics, drones and robotics. There is room for us to grow quickly in these segments,” Sawhney said.
He urged the industry to tap the potential using new and emerging technologies, pointing out that 2020 will bring new opportunities that are on the horizon. New technologies are coming alive, including #5G, #IoT in various domains, #AI, #3D printing, #blockchain etc.
“These technologies are coming and joining several existing technologies. This decade will see an immense amount of change. There will be the growth of new companies, new technologies, new ideas.
“Today, the opportunities arising of all these factors highlights that India is the best place to be in. The use of technologies and with the capabilities available with us, this is the time to tap the opportunities,” emphasized Sawhney.
“We see greater adoption of digital technologies across the sectors during COVID-19 times,” added Abhishek Singh, President & CEO (Additional Charge), NeGD and CEO, MyGov.
“There is no dearth of technology and the challenge is to leverage the technology and expertise and work together to bring a Digital Bharat. This will not only meet the current challenges but also help us equip to meet future challenges,” he stressed.
Singh also talked about the growth the digital payments, e-learning, digital awareness etc., and how the Government of India leveraged technology as a socio-economic tool for development during the COVID-19 emergency.
Prof Rajat Moona, Director, #IIT Bhilai, shared about how the education sector of India has leveraged technology to move to the digital platform during the COVID-19 crisis.
“ICT infrastructure especially in rural India has played a huge role in India’s physical to digital transformation,” said Prof. Moona.
“Digital is the new normal. In this new normal of the remote working environment, cyber resilience and security are playing a huge role,” observed Virat Bhatia, Chairman, FICCI ICT and Digital Economy Committee.
Digital India has truly empowered the nation to leverage technology for digital transformation.
“At #FICCI, we have always worked with the government for the growth and development of our nation,” he said. #software #products #IT #AI #ML #dataanaytics #technologies #imports #exports /fiinews.com
