Topic: The state of Technological Development in India

and it’s probable Economic Implications.

Name: Surabhi Rajak

Email ID: surabhirajak007@gmail.com

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In ancient age people used to travel from one place to another place either on feet or animal cart and
today we have superfast trains, aeroplanes and many more. We are dreaming to get settled in Mars. In
Vaidik period people used to write in bark and today we have not only high quality paper but computer,
laptop, tablet. Few years back we regularly would visit to bank but today?

The journey from writing a letter to drafting an email, from the land line communication to evolutionary
5-G mobile phone, from the desktop to laptop, from climbing ladder to enjoying elevator and today from
the offline classes to super fast and cozy online classes … the journey did not place overnight and it was
not easy too, but it happened! Can it be guessed that how did it happen? What is the reason behind these?

It’s Technology.

Source: Google

If the question raised, “What is technology”?

Technology is comprised of products and process created by engineers to meet our needs and wants.

Technology is the application of science to solve problems. In short technology is something which makes
our life easier, better.

Actually, technology is all around us. It has always been a part of our daily life. It’s an un-seperatable part
of science.

“Technology is best when it brings people together.”

Our India is not only a country, it’s a subcontinent. Once upon a time India was the ‘Golden bowl of the
world’. We are one of the oldest civilizations in the world. India has a rich inheritance of science and
technology. From the ancient Indus Valley Civilization to the present day, Scientific and technological
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progress in India has flourished. Today India is enough developed in the field of technology but it had
been started many years back. Our Ved, Puran carries the proof of the same.

Today India ranks third among the most attractive investment destinations for technology transactions in
the world. Modern India has had a strong focus on Science and Technology, realizing that it is a key
element for economic growth. India is among the top most countries in the world in the field of scientific
research.

The country has regularly undertaken space missions, including missions to the moon and the famed
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). India is likely to take a leading role in launching satellite for the
SAARC Nations, generating revenue by offering its space facilities for use to other countries.

At rank 48, India stands among the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020 with a
score of 35.60. In 2019, it was place at 52 position with a GII score of 36.58. India ranks 45 th on the
innovation output and 57th on the innovation input sub-indices.

India’s gross expenditure in R&D was forecast to reach US$96.50 Billion in 2020. By 2022, R&D
expenditure is targeted to reach at least 2% of the country’s GDP.

IT spending in India is estimated to reach US$93 Billion in 2021 and future increase to US&98.5 Billion in
2022.

India’s National Artificial Intelligence strategy prepared by NITI Aayog outlined a way forward to harness
the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in different fields. AI research studies and forecast will raise
India’s annual growth rate by 13% points by 2035.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research runs 37 national laboratories and 39 outreach centers.
India ranks 10th in the Global Cyber Security Index 2020 that was launched by the International
Telecommunication Union.

India is developing gradually in the field of technology and growing. Let’s look at some of the recent
developments in the field of science and technology in India are as follows:

 In July 2021, ISRO announced that its geo-imaging satellite ‘EOS-03’, which will enable near-real
time monitoring of natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, is scheduled for launch in the
third quarter of 2021 and Chandrayaan-3 is likely to be launched in the third quarter of 2022.
 In August 2021, the central government approved Deep Ocean Mission (DOM), which will be
implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a total budget of Rs. 4,077 crore (US$ 548.54
million) for five years. The mission is a multi-ministerial, multi-disciplinary programme to develop
deep-sea technologies such as manned submersibles (that are rated for 6,000-metre water depth)
and enable deep-sea mining, exploration of deep-sea mineral resources and marine biodiversity,
acquisition of a research vessel to explore oceans, conduct deep-sea observations and build
capacities in marine biology research.
 In August 2021, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra
Singh announced that gamma irradiation technology for food preservation has been shared with
private players and at present, 26 gamma radiation processing plants are operational in the
country in private, semi government and government sector for irradiation of various products.

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  In June 2021, DRDO developed an anti-drone technology to detect and neutralise unmanned aerial
vehicles. This technology uses radar system that offers 360-degree coverage.
 On June 28, 2021, DRDO tested a nuclear-capable ballistic missile ‘Agni P’ with range capability of
1,000-2,000 kms.
 In March 2021, the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated
two technology centres at Visakhapatnam and Bhopal, three extension centres of big technological
centres and seven mobile Udyam Express of MSME.
 In February 2021, about 1 lakh women were trained on digital literacy in India via ‘We Think
Digital’
 In February 2021, Union Minister for MSME & Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari
inaugurated 50 artisan-based SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries)
clusters, which will be spread >18 states, to support >42,000 artisans in traditional crafts.
 In December 2020, Ambassador of France, Germany and the European Union announced that they
will together work out a detailed plan to fund more eco-friendly projects in Kerala in the coming
years.
 In November 2020, the Engineering Exports Promotion Council India and the National Institute of
Design collaborated to promote and upgrade designs and technology for the medical devices
industry, enabling it to meet the emerging needs of the country’s health sector, particularly in the
aftermath of COVID-19.

Now, have a look at the impact of technology on our lives and economy.
Let’s understand with an example.
A daily wage labourer Ramu manages to eke out a living by working at construction sites in the city. He
used to get Rs 100 in cash at the end of the day. A month back, Ramu bought a simple mobile phone
and joined the government's Unified Payment System. Now, the contractor pays him Rs 200, which is
what he is actually supposed to pay Ramu.

Ramu now finds it easier to buy things as even small shops accept payment through mobile phones.
Other workers like Ramu also are paid the designated amount. Ramu also realised that he is entitled to
many benefits from government schemes.

Credit : Shutterstock

Technology is a great equaliser. It brings the rich and poor alike on the same platform. Banking is (or
was) a low volume, high fee system. Telecommunications is a high volume low fee system. Digitisation

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brings these two systems together for the benefit of the common man. Research shows that the more
formal and organised a workforce is, the better is country's development parameters. However, most
of India's economy is presently informal and unorganised. Digitisation of payments not only
formalises and organises a country's workforce, it also brings down the cost of running a cash
economy. A particular study has shown that India can save thousands of crores if it moves into a
cashless (or minimal cash) economy. All that money saved can be diverted into social sectors to
improve the quality of life of the masses. Technology makes it possible to bring such a scenario to
reality. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is one such technology.

UPI is a system that payment features in a single mobile application. It was launched by National
Payments Corporation of India as a result of Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) vision of migrating towards
a 'less-cash' and more digital society. UPI can be used for:

 Single mobile application to access multiple bank accounts

 Immediate money transfer via any mobile phone any time of the day.
 Transaction without entering details such as account number, card no, IFSC, etc.
 Bill sharing.
 Merchant payments.
 Paying utility bills.
 Raising complaint directly through mobile app.

The medium to long-term impacts of such technology are enormous. If it goes as per a roadmap
without hiccups, the following things can happen:

1) More number of people will receive benefits for which they are entitled. Migrant labourers will
especially be benefitted by digitisation of payments. They can receive entitled social schemes
money even if they are thousands of kilometres away from home.

2) A larger chunk of India's economy will become formalised, organised, and come into the tax
bracket. This should, over a period of time, ease out the tax burden on the country.

3) Hoarding and laundering of money will be probably be reduced as most of the money is in
digital form and visible to the government on real-time basis.

4) With more money flowing into banking system, credit rates on loans will ease and easier
availability of loans may be possible.

5) Even small-time hawkers and vendors who form a large bulk of our economy can avail loan and
government benefits as they will be accessible through mobile payment systems.

6) A street hawker need not remain a hawker for the rest of his life. He can expand his business
and move up the value chain over a period of time. We may see new technologies that the
government will have to adopt to streamline, secure, and simplify its digital payment systems.
Primary among them is the adoption of blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is a
decentralised ledger system where transactions occur quickly with no transaction fee in a
reliable and secure manner. By adopting blockchain technology, we can make a payment
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 system totally secure and immune to cyber-threats that are a concern to any economy.

7) By implementing blockchain technology, the government can directly connect with the people
economically. Instead of bank accounts, they will have Blockchain Wallets. And the account
keeping is done by the blockchain network (instead the banks at present).We may see a rapid
transformation of our lives in the days to come. And this transformation will be brought about
by technologies which are aimed at easing our lives and improving our economy.

India is aggressively working towards establishing itself as a leader in industrialisation and technological
development. Significant developments in the nuclear energy sector are likely as India looks to expand its
nuclear capacity. Moreover, nanotechnology is expected to transform India’s pharmaceutical industry.
The agriculture sector is also likely to undergo a major revamp with the government investing heavily for
a technology-driven Green Revolution. Government of India, through the Science, Technology and
Innovation (STI) Policy-2013, among other things, aspires to position India among the world’s top five
scientific powers. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its first Indian human mission
by 2022.

At the end I would like to say that we have to still keep working and more importantly have to change our
mindset to grow faster and along with that we have to say no to nepotism and we have to try to give more
chance to our new generation as they are the backbone of our society and country. We have to think
positively about the brain drain and need to be serious about this issue. We should work on our
education system. We should provide chance to our creative students to create a better India, a
developed India and it’s economy.

“The best way to create value in the 21st century is to connect creativity with technology.’
---Steve Jobs.

Source: Google

References – Google (Media reports, Press Releases, Press Information Bureau (PIB), Union Budget 2021-22)

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