Sectors like retail, education, finance and media have leveraged digital transformation and are using digital infrastructure for the development a new India, experts have opined at a webinar held in Delhi.
“Our goal is to make digital usability as good as digital accessibility,” said Mr Ajit Pai, Distinguished Expert, NITI Aayog, at a webinar organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) on ‘India’s Digital Transformation to Drive Post Covid Economy’.
Giving a background about the telecom sector since the 1990s, its transformation and challenges faced by the sector, especially during the pandemic, Mr. Pai emphasized that India’s financial transformation has been tremendous during covid.
For instance, The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) scheme has enabled India to leap frog in the world. He said that some of the most critical things post the pandemic would be the traditional view of people for e-commerce, the retail sector and the education sector.
Mr Pai also mentioned that the government and private sector are both are investing in telecom infrastructure and the BharatNet project will accelerate the digital transformation in the future.
Talking about initiatives undertaken by the government in digital and financial verticals, he said that even though mobility, access, usability has improved, and we need to improve the quality of connectivity. We also need to ensure that what we build has to be resilient, secure and efficient.
Mr Deepak Chanduka (ITS), Deputy Director General (Special Projects), Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, mentioned that digital transformation is already happening and the pandemic has surely accelerated its pace and it will continue in near future. Digital transformation is highly dependent on robust connectivity and he said and elaborated on how the Department of Telecommunications had taken the initiative to cover urban and rural populations through various projects.
Mr Amit Malik, Managing Director- Asia Pacific, Japan & China, CISCO Systems India Pvt Ltd, while discussing about the impact of the pandemic on digital transformation, opined that telecom and internet are at forefront of digital transformation and connectivity. He said that the most critical thing today is innovation which needs to be properly cultivated and that would become the platform for further technological development.
Mr Malik stressed on the fact that in the post covid world, we need to adapt to change, transform our mindset, fasten the pace of innovation & digitization, increase our availability of bandwidth with the help of 5G and use automation as a key driver as that would become most crucial to adopt to. He emphasized that convergence, collaboration, and connectivity are important for ensuring digital transformation in the nation.
Mr Arun Karna, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, AT&T Global Network Services India Private Ltd threw some light on the edutech and fintech aspects of digitalization in the country.
Mr Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHDCCI in his presidential address deliberated about how digital transformation amidst the pandemic has been complex for both businesses as well as consumers. He mentioned that all Indian stakeholders will need to gear up to capture the opportunities and manage the challenges of being a connected nation.
Giving a background about the evolution of the telecom market in the past years, Mr. Aggarwal mentioned that telecom has the advantage to transform people’s life. Digital transformation is here to stay and there will be a change in the business working and functioning, post covid. To build a modern, post-COVID economy, India will need to strategically evolve a global brand position and adopt a global innovation mindset.
Mr Sandeep Aggarwal, Mentor, Telecom Committee, PHDCCI, while sharing his industry perspective, said that the transformational shift in different sectors of the country during the pandemic has helped in making India a digital economy for the present and future times. The latest technologies that have been adopted are enabling faster working and smooth functioning of business in these challenging times.
Mr Rajiv Gupta, Chairman-Telecom Committee, PHDCCI, discussed about the impact of the pandemic on digital growth and transformation. New strategies and practices have been adopted giving more emphasis to research and production to make India an Aatma Nirbhar Economy in the future. He said that technology and digital tools like drones, AI, and Machine learning are having an impact in all sectors of the industry and at the same time helping the country to eliminate the digital divide.
