One of my recent blogposts generated a significant number of comments on an EIU discussion forum. A few of the commentators alluded to some of the speed breakers littering India’s highway to growth. These included issues of governance, public debt, the need for ensuring trickle-down growth and development, agricultural reforms, efficient allocation of resources and greater financial inclusion. While there is no one magic wand that can address these issues satisfactorily, certain notable developments in the information and communication technology (ICT) and ICT-enabled space, taken together, have the potential to come close.
1. Recent auctions of wireless broadband licenses and 3G spectrum. Acknowledged as among the biggest such auctions globally in recent years, revenue from the two auctions totalled `1.06 trillion (approximately US$ 23 billion), about three times the Indian Government’s initial estimates. As per recent reports, over 250,000 villages would be connected to wireless broadband and 3G mobile services by 2012 enabling them to access the slew of value-added services including e-commerce, tele-medicine and social networking.
The auction was also a welcome windfall for the deficit-strapped government, with some analysts saying the spectrum bonanza could cut the country's deficit to 4.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) from a projected 5.5 percent for the 2010/2011 fiscal year.
2. The Unique Identification (UID) project. Launched in June 2009, the UID is an ambitious project designed to link a resident Indian’s multiple IDs (passport, driving license, PAN card, bank accounts, address, voter ID etc) to a common database. It is believed that unique national IDs will help address the rigging in state elections, widespread embezzlement that affects subsidies, poverty alleviation programmes, etc. Addressing illegal immigration into India and terrorist threats is another goal of the programme.
3. Mobile banking. According to a recent report by TowerGroup Research, mobile banking in India will grow from 10 million active users in 2009 to over 53 million active users by 2013. Signalling the potential of this channel, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed mobile banking policies and increased the mobile payment limit to `50,000/- from `5,000/-. At a recent conference on m-Governance organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), one of the speakers highlighted that, due to digital payments, cash circulation had gone up by 7%, against the usual 2%, quoting an RBI report.
4. Agrarian transformation through models such as e-Choupal. e-Choupal, an initiative of ITC Limited, involves the installation of computers with Internet access in rural areas of India to offer farmers up-to-date marketing and agricultural information for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture products. It was conceived to tackle the challenges posed by fragmented farms, weak infrastructure and the involvement of numerous intermediaries.
5. The Spoken Web – Developed by IBM’s India Research Lab, this is a voice-enabled web-browser. It is currently undergoing a second pilot in Gujarat, after one in Andhra Pradesh. The opportunities for connecting the disenfranchised 35% of India’s population which is illiterate are mind-boggling.
6. E-Governance. While deployment has been slow, some significant initiatives have been made, especially in states such as Andhra Pradesh. At national level, customs and excise and passport services have seen considerable use. For a status report, click here.
7. E-learning. With more than 500 million people required to be educated/skilled over the next 12 years, the Government of India is putting significant thrust to this mode of delivery.
8. E-healthcare : With a shortage of 600,000 doctors and 1,000,000 nurses, e-healthcare solutions are gradually being seen as significant drops in a very large ocean.
9. Smart Grids – In May this year, India’s Ministry of Power launched the India Smart Grid Task Force and the India Smart Grid Forum with a view to turbo-charge the strategic deployment of smart grids in the country.
10. Adoption of smartphones. According to Frost and Sullivan, smartphones will account for 54% of the Asia-Pacific mobile market in five years, up sharply from five percent in 2009. In a market where the mobile handset is often considered a reflection of social standing, the smartphone is driving ARPU (average revenue per user) in India. Introduction of low-cost, sub-US$110 smartphones is fuelling this growth.
The catapult that the mobile revolution created for the Indian economy in the late 1990s is well documented and widely acknowledged. All of this makes me wonder whether ICT will now stand for India’s Cohesive Transformation?
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