India @ the helm of Fourth Industrial Revolution

S Mohini Ratna
Editor
VARINDIA

Technology is evolving faster than the society can handle. Digital technologies have transformed every industry. There is no public or private sector – it is impacting every segment. Everybody has to embrace digital as digital maturity level will distinguish men from boys. As we enter the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is important for people to come together to ensure that such technologies are used to benefit the netizens of India.

The emerging technologies do not come without their risks. Some people now care more about their technology and social media profiles. One of the major concerns is privacy. Controversies against various social media sites including Facebook reveal that our data may not be so secure after all. Aside from that, developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics show that there is a potential that such technologies could displace millions of jobs. A new study forecasts that by 2030, as many as 800 million jobs could be lost worldwide to automation.

 India has begun the process of transitioning to Industry 4.0. Aadhaar is the world's largest biometrics database, with more than 1.2 billion Indian residents enrolled. India also wants to become an AI hub with the government recently announcing its National Programme on AI to encourage the development of AI-related technology in the country. With this India has become the second largest market in the world and a growing economy that has led the WEF to open a Centre in Maharashtra.

India has taken the next step in shaping the future of emerging technology policy with the new Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. India has opened the World Economic Forum to work mostly on the policy frameworks and protocols for emerging technologies like blockchain, AI and Drones and drones are selected as first project areas.

With regards to AI, the focus will be on accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence to tackle some of the country’s most pressing socio-economic needs and the project blockchain and smart contracts can transform the ease of doing business in India. Drones have the potential to revolutionize the agriculture sector. With a strong belief that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will change how we produce, how we consume, how we communicate and even how we live.

IT is going to be the focus area for every enterprise. I am in a strong conviction on the technologies like open source, IoT, data lake technology that are some of the technologies that will completely disrupt the market.