Roadmap on how India can emerge as a Dynamic Innovation Hub, for the Rest of Asia

India, the world's second-largest populated country, has the potential to become an innovation hub, showcasing modern technologies to the rest of Asia and the world. Our thriving, educated young labour market and our prowess in technological developments are the two pillars that open up a world of opportunities for us in the fourth industrial revolution.

India has always been at the forefront of adopting new technologies and implementing them across industries. AI, IoT, blockchain, and other technologies are being studied to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our industries. However, there are some roadblocks in adopting these technologies that are stifling our growth.

In this article, I am sharing my personal views as how stakeholders can work together to tackle these challenges and make our nation the de-facto innovation hub in the Asia.

1.   Reducing the Time for Implementing Innovative Technologies

The Founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF (World Economic Forum), Professor Klaus Schwab, states that we need to adopt an agile governance model when it comes to regulating and implementing modern technologies. This resonates exactly with our Honourable Prime Minister's motto of "Minimum Government but Maximum Governance."

There is need to set up an agile teams within the government that evaluate the potential of upcoming technologies and fine-tune existing policies, paving the way for the adoption of new technologies with minimum hurdles. This is a must for nations to thrive in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.

This requires a three-pronged approach. There must be more reliable connectivity between:

·     The government in charge of regulating technology,

·     The academia that develops and nurtures new, ground-breaking technologies

·     The industry that is in charge of developing technology

A few suggestions that may help in bridging the gap between the three stakeholders.

There must be an open and honest feedback loop between the three entities. This is a must for reducing the time for the commercialisation of emerging technologies. It also presents a more potent opportunity to fine-tune administrative policies and regulations pertaining to technology.

We can follow the examples of European Universities where technology transfer offices act as the point of contact among the three stakeholders. These are to be set up at leading research-oriented universities. The goal of these offices is to facilitate conversations between the three stakeholders. These offices aim to reduce the time taken for commercialising innovation.

Industries need to shoulder extra responsibilities by creating roadmaps for the government to follow for technological adoption. Universities, on the other hand, have to continually refine and evolve their curricula to train the young workforce on skills that will be required by the workplaces of the future. 

2.   In Technology, We Trust

One of the biggest challenges with developing nations is that we wait for other technologically advanced first-world countries to build a technology. We then modify it to suit our local needs. This approach means that we lose out on the opportunity of being the first-mover. Being the first-mover for technology not only helps us shine the spotlight on our academia and industries, but it also helps us create a thriving market for new businesses.

Countries that focus on the negative impact of technologies miss out on being the first-movers. For instance, the fear of Cryptocurrencies disrupting the traditional financial framework or AI taking over jobs, replacing millions of workers, hold us back from focussing on the ample positive benefits of these technologies.

To avoid technology backlash among the public, tech entrepreneurs have to educate citizens on the positive impacts of these technologies. Additionally, universities and local governments have to prepare citizens for the future workplace by providing them with additional training and upskilling wherever required.

3.   Investing for our Future

The Fourth Industrial Revolution presents a massive opportunity for India to transform from a services economy to a robust, R&D driven innovation hub. The need of the hour is not to miss the bus.

With a population of 130 crores, India has a massive domestic market for innovative goods and services. A significant percentage of the national GDP is being spend on R&D. Private and public-funded research labs are being set up at all leading universities. The rapid growth of AI-enabled technology in China and automated drones in Israel is mainly due to government spending in these domains and better collaboration among researchers, entrepreneurs, and the government. Additionally, banks should come forward in extending loans to private firms and entrepreneurs to quicken the pace of development and commercialisation of emerging technologies.

The Bottom Line: Let’s not miss the Opportunity of Leading the World, in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

India has the massive benefit of being the home to a vast young, educated, and technologically-driven population. Additionally, our government is doing great job to spur innovation by focussing on SEZs (Special Economic Zones) for the promotion of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. MedTech Zone in Andhra Pradesh is an example of how an innovation cluster that focuses on a specific industry helps all the stakeholders. The zone generates employment for the local youth, while also adding to the export potential of the country. 

The government's role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is to facilitate, while the industry's job is to innovate. All the stakeholders have to work together as a unified front to technologise our nation rapidly. 

The new emerging world after 2020 will be built on revolutionary and path-breaking technologies. And, to remain healthy, prosperous and competitive in this modern era, all of us need to adopt and embrace new emerging technologies. Are we ready for it ?