Whether it is smart cities or financial inclusion or even energy security, there is no doubt that India will have to bank on emerging and established technologies to realise its development goals. The key, of course, would lie in adopting the right technologies that can prove transformative. It is in this context that the McKinsey Global Institute’s (MGI) report on 12 technologies—mobile internet, cloud technology, automation of knowledge work, digital payments, verifiable digital identity, internet of things, intelligent transportation and distribution, geographic information systems, genomics, advanced oil and gas exploration, renewable energy, and advanced energy storage—with the potential to add an economic impact of $500 billion to $1 trillion between 2012 and 2025 becomes an instructive pointer. These technologies, MGI holds, could have a “profound impact on growth and social progress”.
Some of these are already in various stages of adoption and this creates a cascading effect for the adoption of the others. The appetite for mobile internet, for example, as per Cellular Operators Association of India data, is growing in periurban and rural areas, where broadband infrastructure is either entirely lacking or is unable to match up to the demand. Mobile internet, in turn, could facilitate digital payments. With increased connectivity, in the absence of developed physical marketplaces and low penetration of bank branch network, the rural consumer can be linked to sellers through the online marketplaces. Similarly, harnessing mobile internet for farm-related information and adopting genomics, especially GM technology, could help 22 million farmers increase productivity by as much as 60%. The potential these technologies have for the health, education and citizen services sectors are enormous. What is needed is a policy environment enabling these.
