Kavindra,
I picked this up from Shri Narendra
Modi’s web site
Take a look at the highlighted portion
hcp
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Debjani Ghosh
The great Robert Noyce once said,
“At the heart of what is possible is
innovation and imagination”.
Since I came back to India, I have been
even more fascinated by the statement and how aptly it summed up the situation
in the country.
For centuries India has been a land of
promise and potential, the promise of 1.2 billion plus people, the astounding
potential of its demographic dividend given a largely young population and the
promise to be a leading global player.
The world has waited eagerly for India
to deliver on the promise, but most will agree that it hasn’t happened yet.
That however is changing and changing
fast.
We now have a strong leadership
committed to change and not afraid to take the tough decisions needed to make
it a reality.
The Digital India vision gives us an
inspiring goal to work towards – one in which technology will ensure that every
citizen has access to education, jobs, governance, healthcare and critical
services, thereby creating a platform for real inclusive growth.
The sheer thought of 1.2 billion people
contributing to the economy is so mind boggling that one cannot even begin to
imagine the possibilities.
And at the heart of that possibility
does lie Innovation in its truest form.
Digital India is not by any means an
easy goal. It is bold, audacious and will need India to become THE most
innovative country in the world for success.
Just as India is the land of potential,
it is also the land of complex challenges.
A lot of them arising from the
overwhelming diversity we see in the country.
To connect all citizens with technology,
we cannot ignore the rich diversity of the country.
Instead we must build for it. The
biggest bottle neck to technology adoption in India is relevance, especially in
rural India.
If we want people to connect and use
technology in a sustainable way, we need to show how it can improve – and this
is the biggest challenge - their livelihood.
I am a strong believer that we must
rethink technology development in the country to impact livelihoods. Only if
that happens, will every citizen want to connect to technology.
The realization of Digital India needs a
complete grounds-up approach to innovation and tech development.
We have to develop for India and to
solve the problems faced by the diverse Indian citizenry. Not an easy challenge
by any means.
It calls for an incredibly robust
ecosystem that sees value in innovating for India and
developing solutions based on real problems.
Thanks to the strong Government push for
startups, I do believe we are seeing the
ecosystem build up. However, it needs help and focused support to increase the
impact it can have.
The technology startup ecosystem in
India needs to be motivated to build for the country and see the benefit (read
growth) in doing so.
It is a real issue faced by them and
unless it is addressed, we are not going to see the impact in terms of growth
and results.
The two key challenges
faced by tech startups are lack of access to technology mentorship and scale
know-how.
We are beginning to see tech
multinationals in India launch initiatives to work with startups, providing them with access to funds, technology and
mentorship.
However, given the urgency we face, the
efforts need to be significantly dialed up and focused on finding solutions for
India.
This is where a formal
initiative by the Government to encourage large companies scale startup
outreach and mentorship can help a lot in accelerating the momentum.
The Indian Government is doing a lot to
provide funding support to startups and increase their ease of doing business,
but tech mentorship is another crucial area that needs to be an integral part
of any startup support plan.
And the plan needs to benefit both the
mentee and mentor for sustainable success.
Another area where
startups needs support is scale knowhow.
Most of the tech startups I have
interacted with are worried to develop an India-only-solution as it is
incredibly difficult to find scale, especially when dealing with solutions
addressing social issues.
This is where the Government must step
in and play an important role.
Countries like US have grown grounds-up
innovation by acting as a strategic investor through a decentralized network of
public institutions like National Science Foundation to not just invest in the
development of new technologies, but in the creation of new markets that the
private sector might be hesitant to enter.
This is a must do in
India.
The government has to
play the role of a catalyst in
enabling scale for solutions addressing challenges in key areas like
agriculture, education, healthcare, financial inclusion and make it easy for the startup community to succeed in
these segments.
We cannot unleash the true India
potential unless and until every single adult citizen becomes a contributing member of the economy.
Technology will be the key enabler. And
for technology to deliver on the promise of connecting all Indian citizens, it
must be relevant and developed with specific needs or challenges in mind.
Innovate or die is no more a cliché for
India, it is the hard truth. India’s success depends on it.
(Debjani Ghosh has had an illustrious
career with Intel spanning 21 years, and is now working towards growing
tech-innovation and fostering equal opportunities. )
The views expressed above belong to the
author(s) and the Narendra Modi website
and Narendra Modi App does not necessarily endorse the views expressed.
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With Regards,
hemen
parekh
(
M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
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