Pranjal Sharma is an economic analyst, advisor and author who focuses on technology, globalisation and media. He serves on boards of enterprises and non-profit entities which are leveraging emerging technologies for sustainable, equitable growth. Pranjal also guides projects on economic forecasting, business intelligence & public diplomacy to interpret policy impact on industry and society.

His new book is India Automated – How the Fourth Industrial Revolution is Transforming India. His previous book Kranti Nation – India and The Fourth Industrial Revolution, published in 2017 was the first to chronicle the impact of emerging technologies in India. Pranjal was also the co-author of The Z Factor.

KEY TAKE-AWAY
  • Over the last 30 years, India has undergone a profound transition – from a command economy to a market economy – and this process has “unleashed an entrepreneurial spirit India didn’t know she had”.
  • Government adoption of new technologies is impacting India both in economic and societal terms.  For example, the automation of tax administration has not only hugely increased the efficiency of the process and enlarged the tax base, but has also removed much of the rent seeking and corruption formerly entrenched in the system.
  • The JAM trilogy (Jan Dham – system of simplified banking facilities, Aadhar – electronic identification system and Mobile telephones – 80% of all internet access in India is via mobile phones) facilitated by technological innovation has radically changed the workings of Indian society and not exclusively for the business sector. For example, accurate and reliable identification means that welfare measures and rural development schemes, frequently abused in the past, “can now be delivered without leakage”.
  • Widespread internet access is a game changer in terms of health care delivery. The CoWin vaccination platform is one of the finest examples of government and private sector collaborations in the world. The speed and scale of its delivery has been exceptional.
  • The benefits of Private – Public collaboration and the application of new technology in the procurement and provision process has also improved efficiency and reduced corruption. Harnessing small local tech companies for ‘last mile’ service delivery is one example.  It could be said that India isn’t a poor country – but rather a country ‘poorly managed’.  Technology and automation are helping to put this right.
  • Geopolitical thinking in India has shifted. The old Bush adage “You’re either with us or against us” doesn’t fly any more.  India’s interests and the pursuit of technological and economic independence now determine Indian foreign policy. India is open to bi-lateral conversations and collaborations but insists on coming to these exchanges as an equal.
  • Put another way, the ‘Walled-Garden’ scenario is more and more of a reality because the fervour for 1990’s globalization and the WTO promises on open trade were undermined when it turned out to be a one-way process in favour of the West.
  • A robust democracy is propitious for encouraging and enabling fresh innovation and has the potential to give India an edge over her more autocratic competitors.  In 2021 India could name 44 unicorns and the tech sector is very successful in attracting FDI, but equally large amounts of India capital is being deployed globally.