India Can Soon be The Tech Garage of the World

Context: With the necessary government push, India can soon become the tech garage of the world.

Potential of India to become the Tech Garage of the World

• A vibrant start-up ecosystem:  In 2019 alone, over 1,300 startups were added, thereby solidifying India’s position as the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world. 

• Encapsulates the principle of Atma Nirbhar Bharat - not just confident, outward-looking and non-insular, but also one that develops indigenous technology solutions at a super scale for complex problems. 

• Preferred investment destination:

• Unaffected by covid-19 pandemic: Resilience of India’s tech industry during the covid-19 pandemic has been on display, with investments soaring to a mammoth $38 billion.
• Private equity investments at a 10-year-high in 2019, attracting $17.3 billion and registering a yearly growth of 60.5%. 

• Provide solutions to the massive and intractable challenges across sectors such as healthcare, education, financial inclusion, modernisation of agriculture and others. 

• India’s IT/ITeS industry is a global powerhouse: The massive $167 billion IT industry mostly comprises companies that provide software and backend IT support.Govt should act as a catalyst with the aim of innovating for India and the world 

• software services and backend IT support. 

• But there is absence of platform companies that can compete with global players.

• Presence of platform-based models: could serve as the blueprint for the emergence of future platform companies. 

• For E.g. National Health Stack and Aarogya Setu were developed envisioning a cohesive future for a health-tech ecosystem in India with public and private participation. 

• Government Promotion: 

• Prime Minister also launched the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge to encourage the creation of world-class made in India Apps
• The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is driving Atal Tinkering Labs with Artificial Intelligence (AI), and robotics and 3D printing are being taught from class VI onward
• Unified Payment Interface (UPI) acts as one of the most powerful examples of the potential that India in the digital financial inclusion space.
• Partnering with the private sector: Prime Minister recently entrusted NITI Aayog with the task of developing technological products in partnership with the private sector. 

Way forward

• Creating world-class product: which requires skillful application of AI and necessitates 5 critical inputs:

• Flow of data-hungry young entrepreneurs
• AI algorithm engineers: Our IIITs and IITs must be reoriented to produce AI engineers who can partner with tech entrepreneurs to launch cutting-edge global tech companies.
• Computing powers
• AI-enabling policy environment

• A balance between regulation and product design:

• Role of Government: Bring together the synergies of the private sector with the aim of innovating for India and the world and provide an enabling environment and a favourable regulatory ecosystem
• Role of Private Sector: Product development should be undertaken through private entrepreneurship, with the government acting as a facilitator.