Digital India Creating a Better world to live in

In recent months, digitalization has become a topic of debate. For India to transform into a digital place, technology will play a major role in it. Herein comes the contribution of vendors who look at it as an opportunity to grow along with the country Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of transforming the country into Digital India has created ripples throughout the nation. He envisions an India where digital highways will unite the nation, 1.2 billion connected Indians will drive innovation, get easy access to information, availability of government services via mobile, transparent governance, government engagement with citizens through social media and much more. This is a nationwide programme with an aim to penetrate every nook and corner of the country. The initiatives taken by the Government towards digitization and smart cities are commendable. They are focussed on leveraging advanced technology and follow an innovative approach towards large- scale development of the nation. And to make it a success, government should ensure a robust digital infrastructure, provide services provided through digital means and the most important is dissemination of digital literacy across the country. [caption id="attachment_1320738" align="alignleft" width="150"] Virender Jeet Sr. VP Technology Newgen Software[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1050243" align="alignleft" width="150"] Khwaja Saifuddin Senior Sales Director - South Asia, Middle East and Africa, WD[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1050305" align="alignleft" width="150"] Sunil Grewal Director – Sales & MarCom, GIGABYTE Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_270028" align="alignleft" width="150"] B Raghavendran Director, Partner Organization Cisco India and SAARC[/caption] "Digital India” aims to promote nationwide digital inclusion making the remotest areas of the country a part of the mainstream development initiatives. This will enable improved access to various citizen- centric services and better resource optimization. The linking of Aadhaar cards with the SIM-card number of mobile users will help government track the delivery of various citizen benefits and at the same time put a check on unwanted immigration. In another big leap towards digitization, the decision of the Government to offer each citizen with a “digital cloud” will allow them to store all their original documents at one place. The initiative of developing 100 technology-driven smart cities in India will help in creation of Urban Centres which are environmentally friendly, preserve their heritage and at the same time run on cutting-edge technology. However, transforming India into a digital hub comes with some serious obstacles, the need for right infrastructure and scalable technology platform being the foremost, without which it will be just another ambitious programme,” said Virender Jeet, Sr Vice-President – Technology, Newgen Software. Only transforming physical data into digital will not help the aim of digitization. The data should be stored in a secured and safe place so that it can be accessed and analyzed, whenever needed. Moreover, huge amount of data generated need a huge space to be stored. This calls for a robust digital infrastructure. [caption id="attachment_1320660" align="alignleft" width="100"] Rajesh Khuranaa Country Manager, India & SAARC, Seagate Technology[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1440615" align="alignleft" width="100"] Himanshu Gupta Head Corporate Affairs & Business Development, ZTE[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1440618" align="alignleft" width="100"] Manish Sharma Managing Director, Panasonic India[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1472438" align="alignleft" width="100"] Ravikant Malhan
Director-Smart Cities and Special projects - Schneider Electric India[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1472439" align="alignleft" width="100"] Mehul Doshi
Country Head for Datacenter Products & Solution in India, Fujitsu[/caption] "In order to be fruitful, Digital India initiative needs to have three basic elements: robust digital infrastructure, services being smoothly delivered digitally and digital literacy of the people.The ground work for a better telecom infrastructure and enhanced broadband connectivity is already visible. The digital infrastructure also includes massive-scale data centers where gigantic volumes of digital information that gets created as part of digitization and smart cities’ efforts can be stored, accessed, as well as analyzed. We currently offer WD Re and WD Se and WD Ae range of data center hard drives that are fundamental storage building blocks for every data center,” says Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director – South Asia, Middle East and Africa, WD. “For companies like us in the IT sector, systematic implementation of smart cities brings forth a huge business opportunity, especially in the non-metro regions. An increasing number of cities across India are making the most of the government’s focus on and support for digitization. They are implementing the concept in various spheres, like land record digitization or setting up of smart transport management systems. At the fundamental level, the smart city and digitization concept is bound to improve the spread of better healthcare, and standardized education delivery systems involving schools and colleges in class C and D cities. Also, it will prove to be a boon for small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” said Sunil Grewal, Director – Sales & MarCom, GIGABYTE Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd. According to a report by IDC, the digital universe in India is nearly doubling in size in every two years and will multiply nine-times between 2013 and 2020—from 326 exabytes to 2.8 zetabytes. IDC also forecasts that by 2020, Internet of Things (IoT) will represent almost 10 per cent of the data generated in India. The current government’s Digital India and smart cities’ initiatives could also lead to a massive and quick expansion of IoT in the country. There is a vision to create an IoT industry in India of USD 15 billion by 2020. Preparedness of companies for Digital Transformation The digital transformation has already started in India and it is the most exciting development taking place after a long time. It is an imperative to address multiple challenges that the nation is facing today: rapid tsunami of urbanization, huge strain on the old existing infrastructure and compelling need to shift to a manufacturing economy. All this will ensure an inclusive growth. Here, technology will play a major role to meet those challenges. “The Digital India initiative envisions a key role for technology to power country transformation and we believe Cisco can play a key role in working with an ecosystem to bring technology to the masses in areas including healthcare, education, physical security and smart cities. With the Internet of Everything, and our innovation across segments and architectures, we have deepened our ability to drive demand and create new markets,” says B. Raghavendran, Director, Partner Organization, Cisco India and SAARC. Digitization is at the core of Schneider Electric’s business ethos. It is not merely a strategy but the very way of life at Schneider. "It is how we serve our customers, build bonds with our partners and nurture our employees. We firmly believe in digitizing the complete value chain of our business. Right from component and product level to the overarching software that integrates and digitizes the use of energy, we have been pioneers and we continue to innovate and deliver breakthrough technologies. We digitise the use of energy to make it safe, reliable, green, efficient and most importantly sustainable,” comments Ravikant Malhan, Director – Smart Cities and Special projects, Schneider Electric India. Seagate on its part is developing and offering innovative products which allow users to access and interpret information quickly and securely, to analyze data and understand patterns and behaviour, and harness stored information for growth and innovation. We are also helping consumers store content so they can store, share and re-live their precious experiences and memories. The more people and businesses embrace the digital age, the more they will need secure, robust and intelligent storage solutions. We are excited to be a part of the digital transformation in India and look forward to supporting this evolution in the future,” asserts Rajesh Khurana, Country Manager, India & SAARC, Seagate Technology. Make in India - A Trendsetter The concept of Make in India is simple, yet revolutionary. It is all about ensuring that doing business in India is simpler, especially for companies (both Indian and global) in the manufacturing sector.The campaign is aimed at making India a global manufacturing hub. And the Government is pulling out all the stops for ensuring a smooth sailing for investors, by setting up a dedicated cell to answer queries of business entities within 72 hours. It will also closely monitor all regulatory processes to make them simple and reduce the burden of compliance. “We have great regard and respect for the Make-in-India vision of Mr Modi. This era of digitalization is truly the best time for Make in India. This initiative makes India an important market for several international organizations, including ZTE. India has a huge manufacturing capacity. Through this initiative, India will be able to utilize this capacity. In 2005, ZTE already sensed India’s manufacturing capabilities and potential and set up its manufacturing unit in Manesar which can be expanded as per requirements,” says Himanshu Gupta, Head, Corporate Affairs & Business Development. The campaign has huge possibility to boost the Indian economy in future. India has to become a manufacturing powerhouse in order to drive the economy and generate many more employment opportunities for the large pool of skilled and unskilled labour available here. The Make-in-India campaign is aimed at achieving this. What is needed from the government now is a healthy business environment, clarity and smooth flow as far as procedural and regulatory processes are concerned, maintaining competitiveness of manufacturing in India, focus on R&D and high-tech imports, etc. Corporates are hopeful that this initiative will not just make India a better destination to manufacture in but it will also create millions of jobs to enhance prosperity in the country. “The Make-in-India campaign clearly indicates India’s decisive urge to develop its secondary sector and expand its economy. It has opened up the domestic market for FDIs which would lead to more investment and lay a direct impact on some sectors. The campaign has eased the market for consumer durable industry through a combination of liberalized policies and augmentation of innovative campaigns. A technology-based lifestyle would be a further boost along with relaxation on taxes cumulatively supporting the growth of consumer durable industry. This campaign is not a onetime project but it marks an initiation of a complete transformation of Indian business market. The effect will certainly fall on the social realm equally. With concepts like smart cities, an eco-friendly sustainable form of lifestyle can be installed. If the government works firmly and consistently on this campaign, it will surely change the face of India. Such initiatives have a socio-politico economic effect which brings integrated development across all the sectors of nation and certainly Make-in-India campaign is a potent step towards future glory,” suggests Manish Sharma, Managing Director, Panasonic India. Make in India for many is an ambitious vision and one that has great potential to boost the Indian economy in the future. "LeveragingHigh-Performance Computing (HPC) will be one of the key factors in making manufacturing excellence and research and development a reality. The Government has been showing tremendous interest in leveraging HPC in various application areas like weather forecasting, industrial manufacturing, defence research and design, etc. and we believe the ‘Make-in-India’ vision will only increase the Government’s focus on investing in HPC for science and technology development,” sasserts Mehul Doshi, Country Head for Datacenter Products & Solution in India, Fujitsu. Finally… So far, we have discussed about the initiatives taken by the government and how the technology giants can help the Honorable Prime Minister to make it a reality. But only government initiatives and technology will not help India to take the campaign to the next level. It is we, the citizens of India, who have to equally realize our PM’s dream as it is for the betterment of the entire nation. The citizens have to understand their duties and fulfil them to make it a better world for generations to come. aparna@varindia.com   PM’s dream of a complete Digital India I dream of a Digital India where – High-speed Digital Highways unite the Nation I dream of a Digital India where – 1.2 billion Connected Indiansdrive Innovation I dream of a Digital India where – Knowledge is strength – and empowers the People I dream of a Digital India where – Access to Information knows no barriers I dream of a Digital India where – Government is Open – and Governance Transparent I dream of a Digital India where – Technology ensures the Citizen-Government Interface is Incorruptible I dream of a Digital India where – Government Services are easily and efficiently available to citizens on Mobile devices I dream of a Digital India where – Government proactively engages with the people through Social Media I dream of a Digital India where – Quality Education reaches the most inaccessible corners driven by Digital Learning I dream of a Digital India where – Quality Healthcare percolates right up to the remotest regions poweredby e-Healthcare I dream of a Digital India where – Farmers are empowered with Real-time Information to be connected with Global Markets I dream of a Digital India where – Mobile enabled Emergency Services ensure Personal Security I dream of a Digital India where – Cyber Security becomes an integral part of our National Security I dream of a Digital India where – Mobile and e-Banking ensures Financial Inclusion I dream of a Digital India where – e-Commerce drives Entrepreneurship I dream of a Digital India where – the World looks to India for the next Big Idea I dream of a Digital India where – the Netizen is an Empowered Citizen     Govt. of Telangana and NASSCOM to host WCIT 2018 at Hyderabad Government of Telangana and NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) together have chosen Hyderabad to host the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) in the year 2018. This is the first time that the prestigious global event will be held in India. The WCIT will bring together world’s leading thought leaders, including business delegations from amongst the 80 countries that WITSA represents globally. The representatives include companies keen to do business in India, along with government functionaries and innovation driven academia. WCIT will additionally provide the State an ideal audience including global decision makers who would be participating at the event and making relevant trade and investment decisions. NASSCOM has sought support from the government of India for the event. Shri. KT Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Government of Telangana said, “India has made a mark globally and the Indian ITeS industry has helped it create a niche for itself on the global landscape. We are thankful to NASSCOM to bring WCIT to India and select Hyderabad to host this prestigious confluence of global technology leaders. We are sure that WCIT will help the world, view Telangana and Hyderabad from a new perspective."