computer revolution in india essay

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Digital Revolution

The Digital Revolution (also known as the Third Industrial Revolution) is the shift from mechanical and analogue electronic technology to digital electronics, which began in the closing years of the 20th century.

The adoption of computers and other aspects of digital technology has transformed how humans interact with their environment, and these changes continue to the day.

This article will further give details about the Digital Revolution within the context of the Civil Services Examination.

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History of Digital Revolution in Brief

• The invention of the Analytical Engine (the precursor to the modern-day computer) by Charles Babbage in the late 19th century and as well as that of the telegraph is believed to have accelerated the Digital Revolution.
• Digital communication began to be viable for economic reasons when the personal computer was invented.
• The Digital Revolution was all about the conversion of analog technology to that of the digital format. This would make it possible for copies of the original to be made. For example, repeatable hardware was able to amplify the digital signal and pass it on with no loss of information in the signal
• The turning point of the revolution was the change from analogue to digitally recorded music. During the 1980s, the digital format of optical compact discs gradually replaced analog formats, such as vinyl records and cassette tapes, as the popular medium of choice.

Social Impact of the Digital Revolution

The Digital Revolution has come with its fair share of negative and positive factors. They are detailed as follows:

Positive aspects:

• Greater interconnectedness
• Easier communication
• Exposure of information that in the past could have more easily been suppressed by totalitarian regimes.

The revolutions during the Arab Spring of 2010-2012 were enabled by social networking and smartphone technology.

Regarding the economic impact of the digital revolution, there has been a wide- range of impacts. For example, without the advent of the internet, globalization would not be a feasible venture in today’s world

The revolution altered the way individuals and companies interact with each other. Small and medium enterprises today have access to large markets of the world

The adoption of digital technologies has resulted in a boost in economic productivity and its allied activities.

With the increase of technical advances, the digital revolution has created a demand for new job skills.

Negative effects

• Information overload,
• The rise in Internet predators
• Forms of social isolation
• Media saturation
• Infringement in personal privacy

There have been some cases where excessive use of digital devices as well as computers for personal use has been linked to a company’s productivity, or at least such a perception seems to exist.

Personal computing and other non-work related digital activities in the workplace thus helped lead to stronger forms of privacy invasion, such as keystroke recording and information filtering applications (spyware and content-control software).

India and Digital Revolution

• The Digital India programme, launched in July 2015, is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
• India is one of the biggest and fastest-growing digital markets in the world.
• Decisive government action and private-sector innovation are driving rapid, large-scale digital adoption.
• With nearly 1.2 billion mobile subscriptions and 560 million internet subscriptions, India is home to the second-largest mobile subscription base in the world and the second-largest internet.
• The Digital revolution has given considerable benefits to society at large, but it has also brought its fair share of concerns in the process.
• Powers of communication and information sharing have been greatly expanded and with it  new technologies that can exploit the information concerned have also cropped up.
• It has ushered in a new scenario where mass surveillance can become the norm, bringing in its wake new concerns about civil and human rights.

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The Fascinating Story of How India’s First Indigenous Computers Were Built

Did you know that the credit for kick-starting India’s computer revolution goes to a epic clash between two scientific titans? Here’s the interesting story!

O ver the years, computers have come to play a significant role not just in the lives of ordinary Indians but also in their work. The last few decades especially have seen rapid advancements in the field of computer technology in India. For many Indians, this is a welcome consequence of the LPG (Liberalization Privatization Globalization) reforms unleashed by the government in 1991.

However, while it was certainly an important turning point, the year 1991 was not when India’s computer revolution came into existence. The story begins in the tumultuous years just before India’s Independence.

A statistician who would later go on to be one of the main architects of India’s planning regime, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, had been asked by colonial administrators to conduct estimates of the paddy crop in Bengal in the aftermath of the famine. It was while doing this that he felt the need for computing machines and decided to try developing them locally.

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With this thought at the back of his mind, Mahalanobis founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Calcutta in 1932 and introduced mechanical desk calculators for the first time. In 1943, he also set up the Indian Calculating Machine and Scientific Instrument Research Society to explore the fabrication of such devices locally.

However, it was only after India got its hard-won independence that he got the opportunity to work towards developing indigenous computers. The development of India’s scientific capabilities was a key interest of then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and he gave the responsibility of spearheading this project to two of his most trusted scientist-aides — Mahalanobis and Homi Jehangir Bhabha (who, interestingly, shared a fierce professional rivalry!).

Since acquiring computing power and capability necessary was integral to the success of this effort, Mahalanobis and Bhabha began a race to kickstart India’s computer revolution. Both of them decided to work towards acquiring contemporary computers, build national institutions that would specialise in this technology, and, most importantly, develop indigenous capability.

With the specific aim of developing an analog computer to support the work done at ISI, Mahalanobis set up an Electronic Computer Lab and hired two talented graduates for the purpose- Samarendra Kumar Mitra and Soumyendra Mohan Bose.

While the task may sound easy, back then, it definitely wasn’t. Thanks to the absence of locally-made computer components in India and a scarcity of foreign exchange (along with a tedious bureaucratic process) to import components, finding ready-made parts for the computer was near impossible.

So the enterprising duo scoured the junkyards and war surplus depots to dig up scrap material that they then re-purposed into computer components in their workshop. For instance, in the absence of magnetic tapes or floppy disks, data was punched into cards made of stiff paper!

Their ingenuity and tireless efforts bore fruit when India finally got its first indigenous analog computer (that could solve linear equations with 10 Variables and related problems) in 1953.

By then, Bhabha had already founded the Electronics Committee that would go on to lay the blueprint for India’s computer development in 1970s and spawn new institutions like the Department of Electronics. Thus began India’s computer revolution. Interestingly, both Mahalanobis and Bhabha bonded well with Western scientists and used this network to forge closer ties with the global computer community.

A few years later, a new race began between these two scientific titans — the race to build India’s first indigenously-developed digital computer. Under Mahalanobis’s guidance, ISI collaborated with Jadavpur University to work towards the same. At the same time, Bhabha was blazing his own trail at Tata Insititute of Fundamental Research (set up by JRD Tata in 1945 after Bhabha wrote to the Tata Trust requesting financial assistance to set up a scientific research institute).

While Mahalanobis had won the previous race, this one was aced by Bhabha when his team built a full-scale digital computer in 1959. Commissioned for routine work in early 1960, the machine was formally christened TIFR Automatic Calculator (TIFRAC) by PM Nehru in 1962.

Recalling the excitement of the TIFR team when the first program was run on TIFRAC, PVS Rao (a member of the pioneering team) narrates  in the opening essay of the book,  Homi Bhabha and the Computer Revolution   (edited by RK Shyamasundar and MA Pai),

“It was a small machine language program cumulatively adding one number to another; it looped a number of times and stopped after a specified number of cycles. To the design team, the first Indian computer running a ‘stored program’ was as much a milestone as the first Indian reactor sustaining a chain reaction of nuclear fission!”

Having built India’s first generation analog and digital computers at their respective institutions, both Mahalanobis and Bhabha realized the need for more powerful, state-of the-art, computing machines to boost the fledgling scientific research taking place in the country. This requirement formed the basis for a third race between the two — a battle to win the tag of National Computer Centre for their respective institutes!

While simultaneously expanding the computing activity being carried out in their organisations, both Mahalanobis and Bhabha devoted their efforts towards importing powerful contemporary computers.

Since it was difficult for the Indian government to spare so much foreign exchange for one piece of computing equipment, they had to convince foreign governments and institutions to help them fulfill this target.

After a fortuitous turn of events, it was Bhabha who finally won this battle and took the lead in India’s electronics development policy. The head of TIFR had run into IBM’s Director of Research (ER Piore) aboard a flight to Zurich and mentioned his plan of acquiring a cutting edge computer for atomic energy research in India. Impressed by Bhabha’s vision and articulate arguments, Piore agreed to help.

This was the genesis of a long and fruitful association between a state-run Indian research project and an American computer biggie that would go on to pave the way for not just India’s atomic energy research, but also for its celebrated IT revolution.

As we come to the end of this fascinating story, here’s some interesting trivia about the world’s earliest analog computer.

In 1902, Greek archaeologist Valerious Stais was working at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens when he made a momentous discovery. Embedded in a piece of rock recovered from the Antikythera wreck (a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera), he noticed a corroded yet perceivable gear wheel.

Nicknamed the Antikythera mechanism, the ancient mechanical device was designed to calculate astronomical positions. Today, the primitive tool is believed to be the mankind’s oldest analog computer!

Also Read : How India’s First Indigenous Supercomputer Amazed the World in 1991

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The computer revolution: how it's changed our world over 60 years

The BlueGene/L supercomputer can perform 280.6 trillion operations per second. Image:  REUTERS/KimberlyWhite

.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:hover,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo:focus,.chakra .wef-1c7l3mo[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);} Justin Zobel

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It is a truism that computing continues to change our world. It shapes how objects are designed, what information we receive, how and where we work, and who we meet and do business with. And computing changes our understanding of the world around us and the universe beyond.

For example, while computers were initially used in weather forecasting as no more than an efficient way to assemble observations and do calculations, today our understanding of weather is almost entirely mediated by computational models.

Another example is biology. Where once research was done entirely in the lab (or in the wild) and then captured in a model, it often now begins in a predictive model, which then determines what might be explored in the real world.

The transformation that is due to computation is often described as digital disruption . But an aspect of this transformation that can easily be overlooked is that computing has been disrupting itself.

Evolution and revolution

Each wave of new computational technology has tended to lead to new kinds of systems, new ways of creating tools, new forms of data, and so on, which have often overturned their predecessors. What has seemed to be evolution is, in some ways, a series of revolutions.

But the development of computing technologies is more than a chain of innovation – a process that’s been a hallmark of the physical technologies that shape our world.

For example, there is a chain of inspiration from waterwheel, to steam engine, to internal combustion engine. Underlying this is a process of enablement. The industry of steam engine construction yielded the skills, materials and tools used in construction of the first internal combustion engines.

In computing, something richer is happening where new technologies emerge, not only by replacing predecessors, but also by enveloping them. Computing is creating platforms on which it reinvents itself, reaching up to the next platform.

Getting connected

Arguably, the most dramatic of these innovations is the web. During the 1970s and 1980s, there were independent advances in the availability of cheap, fast computing, of affordable disk storage and of networking.

Compute and storage were taken up in personal computers, which at that stage were standalone, used almost entirely for gaming and word processing. At the same time, networking technologies became pervasive in university computer science departments, where they enabled, for the first time, the collaborative development of software.

This was the emergence of a culture of open-source development, in which widely spread communities not only used common operating systems, programming languages and tools, but collaboratively contributed to them.

As networks spread, tools developed in one place could be rapidly promoted, shared and deployed elsewhere. This dramatically changed the notion of software ownership, of how software was designed and created, and of who controlled the environments we use.

The networks themselves became more uniform and interlinked, creating the global internet, a digital traffic infrastructure. Increases in computing power meant there was spare capacity for providing services remotely.

The falling cost of disk meant that system administrators could set aside storage to host repositories that could be accessed globally. The internet was thus used not just for email and chat forums (known then as news groups) but, increasingly, as an exchange mechanism for data and code.

This was in strong contrast to the systems used in business at that time, which were customised, isolated, and rigid.

With hindsight, the confluence of networking, compute and storage at the start of the 1990s, coupled with the open-source culture of sharing, seems almost miraculous. An environment ready for something remarkable, but without even a hint of what that thing might be.

The ‘superhighway’

It was to enhance this environment that then US Vice President Al Gore proposed in 1992 the “ information superhighway ”, before any major commercial or social uses of the internet had appeared.

Meanwhile, in 1990, researchers at CERN, including Tim Berners-Lee , created a system for storing documents and publishing them to the internet, which they called the world wide web .

As knowledge of this system spread on the internet (transmitted by the new model of open-source software systems), people began using it via increasingly sophisticated browsers. They also began to write documents specifically for online publication – that is, web pages.

As web pages became interactive and resources moved online, the web became a platform that has transformed society. But it also transformed computing.

With the emergence of the web came the decline of the importance of the standalone computer, dependent on local storage.

We all connect

The value of these systems is due to another confluence: the arrival on the web of vast numbers of users. For example, without behaviours to learn from, search engines would not work well, so human actions have become part of the system.

There are (contentious) narratives of ever-improving technology, but also an entirely unarguable narrative of computing itself being transformed by becoming so deeply embedded in our daily lives.

This is, in many ways, the essence of big data. Computing is being fed by human data streams: traffic data, airline trips, banking transactions, social media and so on.

The challenges of the discipline have been dramatically changed by this data, and also by the fact that the products of the data (such as traffic control and targeted marketing) have immediate impacts on people.

Software that runs robustly on a single computer is very different from that with a high degree of rapid interaction with the human world, giving rise to needs for new kinds of technologies and experts, in ways not evenly remotely anticipated by the researchers who created the technologies that led to this transformation.

Decisions that were once made by hand-coded algorithms are now made entirely by learning from data. Whole fields of study may become obsolete.

The discipline does indeed disrupt itself. And as the next wave of technology arrives (immersive environments? digital implants? aware homes?), it will happen again.

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The Outsourcer : The Story of India's IT Revolution

Dinesh C. Sharma is a journalist and author with thirty years of experience reporting on science, technology, and innovation.

A history of how India became a major player in the global technology industry, mapping technological, economic, and political transformations.

The rise of the Indian information technology industry is a remarkable economic success story. Software and services exports from India amounted to less than $100 million in 1990, and today come close to $100 billion . But, as Dinesh Sharma explains in The Outsourcer , Indian IT's success has a long prehistory; it did not begin with software support, or with American firms' eager recruitment of cheap and plentiful programming labor, or with India's economic liberalization of the 1990s. The foundations of India's IT revolution were laid long ago, even before the country's independence from British rule in 1947, as leading Indian scientists established research institutes that became centers for the development of computer science and technology. The “miracle” of Indian IT is actually a story about the long work of converting skills and knowledge into capital and wealth. With The Outsourcer , Sharma offers the first comprehensive history of the forces that drove India's IT success.

Sharma describes India's early development of computer technology, part of the country's efforts to achieve national self-sufficiency, and shows that excessive state control stifled IT industry growth before economic policy changed in 1991. He traces the rise and fall (and return) of IBM in India and the emergence of pioneering indigenous hardware and software firms. He describes the satellite communication links and state-sponsored, tax-free technology parks that made software-related outsourcing by foreign firms viable, and the tsunami of outsourcing operations at the beginning of the new millennium. It is the convergence of many factors, from the tradition of technical education to the rise of entrepreneurship to advances in communication technology, that have made the spectacular growth of India's IT industry possible.

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The Outsourcer : The Story of India's IT Revolution By: Dinesh C. Sharma https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.001.0001 ISBN (electronic): 9780262328333 Publisher: The MIT Press Published: 2015

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Table of Contents

• [ Front Matter ] Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0017 Open the PDF Link PDF for [ Front Matter ] in another window
• Preface Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0001 Open the PDF Link PDF for Preface in another window
• Acknowledgements Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0002 Open the PDF Link PDF for Acknowledgements in another window
• List of Acronyms Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0003 Open the PDF Link PDF for List of Acronyms in another window
• Exchange Rate of Indian Rupee vis-à-vis U.S. Dollar (End-of-Year Rates) Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0004 Open the PDF Link PDF for Exchange Rate of Indian Rupee vis-à-vis U.S. Dollar (End-of-Year Rates) in another window
• Introduction Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0005 Open the PDF Link PDF for Introduction in another window
• 1: India’s First Computers Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0006 Open the PDF Link PDF for 1: India’s First Computers in another window
• 2: The Beginning of State Involvement Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0007 Open the PDF Link PDF for 2: The Beginning of State Involvement in another window
• 3: The Rise, Fall, and Rise of IBM Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0008 Open the PDF Link PDF for 3: The Rise, Fall, and Rise of IBM in another window
• 4: The Dawn of the Computer Age in India Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0009 Open the PDF Link PDF for 4: The Dawn of the Computer Age in India in another window
• 5: Discovering a New Continent Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0010 Open the PDF Link PDF for 5: Discovering a New Continent in another window
• 6: Software Dreams Take Flight Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0011 Open the PDF Link PDF for 6: Software Dreams Take Flight in another window
• 7: The Transition to Offshore Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0012 Open the PDF Link PDF for 7: The Transition to Offshore in another window
• 8: Turning Geography into History Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0013 Open the PDF Link PDF for 8: Turning Geography into History in another window
• 9: Conclusion: The Making of a Digital Nation Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0014 Open the PDF Link PDF for 9: Conclusion: The Making of a Digital Nation in another window
• Notes Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0015 Open the PDF Link PDF for Notes in another window
• Index Doi: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9444.003.0016 Open the PDF Link PDF for Index in another window
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The Computer Revolution Comes to India - Sort Of

• By Sheila Tefft Special to The Christian Science Monitor

August 17, 1989 | NEW DELHI

ATUL KHOSLA had not even seen computers when he started marketing them three years ago. ``Today there is a tremendous awareness,'' says the former television marketing executive. ``Three years ago, you had to educate a customer about what a computer is and what it can do. Now even a layman can tell the difference between hardware and software.''

The computer revolution has come to India - well, sort of.

After Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi rose to power in 1984, the computer became the emblem of his ambitious plan to modernize this backward, poverty-stricken country. The youthful leader and computer buff issued a clarion call to lift India into the 21st century with the help of Western technology.

Production and import of computers and other electronics were liberalized. A new breed of government technocrats exerted influence in the corridors of power.

Now there are more than 100,000 computers in factories, offices, schools, and homes, triple the number of a few years ago. The hardware industry has jumped to more than $300 million in sales from just $50 million in 1985. India exports $100 million in software, some of it via satellite, and hopes the value will approach $300 million by the early 1990s.

Yet despite the fillip from Rajiv Gandhi, computer culture is merely a patina on this tradition-bound, agricultural country of 800 million people, industry observers say. The benefits of computerization, limited largely to major cities, have yet to percolate down, critics say, and even pose dangers to a country of high unemployment and widening gaps between rich and poor.

Indeed, the initial flush that followed Mr. Gandhi's call to modernize is giving way to a more realistic view of the computer's potential. Many Indians scoff at the government's pledge to put a computer in every village.

Facing a tough reelection campaign this year amid charges of corruption and elitism, the prime minister has traded his high-tech rhetoric, initially aimed at the urban middle class, for an appeal for rural development.

``Computers do have a place here,'' says J. Srihari Raju, editor of Computers Today, a major trade journal. ``But they are not not a panacea for this country.''

``We have to strike a balance,'' says Shameek Konar, an economics major who is studying computers. ``We can talk about computer efficiency, but there are social aspects to this, too. What do you do about the poor man who is illiterate and can't earn his daily bread?''

Even in scientifically sophisticated urban pockets, roadblocks to computerization remain.

India's erratic power supply and notoriously bad telephones are major constraints on computer use, particularly for national networks, industry analysts say.

Despite government pressure to lower prices, a personal computer costs about $2,000. Add the purchase of an air conditioner and backup power equipment, and the cost is far out of reach of most middle-class Indians.

Plans to introduce computer courses in schools nationwide have been slowed by inadequate teacher training and curriculum development. Ambitions to computerize India's archaic banking system met stiff resistance from labor unions fearing loss of jobs. Even referring to computers as ``advanced-ledger-posting machines'' has not eased workers' apprehensions.

The lackadaisical sab chalta hai (``anything's OK'') attitude of many Indian managers and workers also blocks computer innovation, experts here say. Others are reticent to explore a computer's potential.

Still, industry observers say that computers hold significant potential for a country like India, which despite its poverty, is technologically advanced in certain areas.

A supercomputer, which the United States agreed to sell to India after overriding fears that the technology could leak to India's ally the Soviet Union, is being readied here for use in forecasting crucial summer monsoon rains. Sale of a second supercomputer is in the offing. India now boasts technical linkups with many major Western computer manufacturers.

Gearing its industry to the growing US software market, India hopes to capitalize on low labor costs and its vast pool of English-speaking computer experts.

The Indian government is studying a plan to establish a technology park where software designed by Indian firms will be transmitted via satellite to users in the United States. The initial venture would link Boston and Pune in Maharashtra state.

The concept was pioneered by Texas Instruments Inc., which set up a subsidiary in the southern city of Bangalore and exports software via satellite to its Dallas headquarters for internal use.

``In 1982, when I went with the first software industry delegation to the United States, the reaction there was `You've got to be joking. India is a land of elephants and tigers and snake charmers,''' says Ashok Bhojwani, who heads a New Delhi software consulting firm. ``We've come a long way since then.''

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Digital India: Technology to transform a connected nation

With more than half a billion internet subscribers, India is one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for digital consumers, but adoption is uneven among businesses. As digital capabilities improve and connectivity becomes omnipresent, technology is poised to quickly and radically change nearly every sector of India’s economy. That is likely to both create significant economic value and change the nature of work for tens of millions of Indians.

In Digital India: Technology to transform a connected nation (PDF–3MB), the McKinsey Global Institute highlights the rapid spread of digital technologies and their potential value to the Indian economy by 2025 if government and the private sector work together to create new digital ecosystems.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

India's consumers are taking a digital leap, uneven adoption among india's businesses has opened a digital gap, measuring the potential economic impact of digital applications in 2025, building digital ecosystems that connect, automate, and analyze, what are the implications for companies, policy makers, and individuals.

By many measures, India is well on its way to becoming a digitally advanced country. Propelled by the falling cost and rising availability of smartphones and high-speed connectivity, India is already home to one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing bases of digital consumers and is digitizing faster than many mature and emerging economies.

India had 560 million internet subscribers in September 2018, second only to China. Digital services are growing in parallel (Exhibit 1). Indians download more apps—12.3 billion in 2018—than any country except China and spend more time on social media—an average of 17 hours a week —than social media users in China and the United States. The share of Indian adults with at least one digital financial account has more than doubled since 2011, to 80 percent , thanks in large part to the government’s mass financial-inclusion program, Jan-Dhan Yojana.

To put this digital growth in context, we analyzed 17 mature and emerging economies across 30 dimensions of digital adoption since 2014 and found that India is digitizing faster than all but one other country in the study, Indonesia. Our Country Digital Adoption Index covers three elements: digital foundation (cost, speed, and reliability of internet service); digital reach (number of mobile devices, app downloads, and data consumption), and digital value, (how much consumers engage online by chatting, tweeting, shopping, or streaming). India’s score rose by 90 percent since 2014 (Exhibit 2). In absolute terms, its score is low—32 on a scale of 100—so there remains ample room to grow.

Public- and private-sector actions have driven digital growth so far

The public sector has been a strong catalyst for India’s rapid digitization. The government’s efforts to ramp up Aadhaar, the national biometric digital identity program, has played a major role. Aadhaar has enrolled 1.2 billion people since it was introduced in 2009, making it the single largest digital ID program in the world, hastening the spread of other digital services. For example, almost 870 million bank accounts were linked to Aadhaar by February 2018, compared with 399 million in April 2017 and 56 million in January 2014. Likewise, the Goods and Services Tax Network, established in 2013, brings all transactions of about 10.3 million indirect tax-paying businesses onto one digital platform, creating a powerful incentive for businesses to digitize their operations.

At the same time, private sector innovation has helped bring internet-enabled services to millions of consumers and made online usage more accessible. For example, Reliance Jio’s strategy of bundling virtually free smartphones with mobile-service subscriptions has spurred innovation and competitive pricing. Data costs have plummeted by more than 95 percent since 2013 and fixed-line download speeds quadrupled between 2014 and 2017. As a result, mobile data consumption per user grew by 152 percent annually—more than twice the rates in the United States and China (Exhibit 3).

Global and local digital businesses have recognized the opportunity in India and are creating services tailored to its consumers and unique operating conditions. Media companies are making content available in India’s 22 official languages, for example. And by tailoring its mobile payments and commerce platform to India’s market, Alibaba-backed Paytm has registered more than 100 million electronic “Know Your Customer”-compliant mobile wallet users and nine million merchants .

The pace of growth is helping India’s poorer states to narrow the digital gap with wealthier states. Lower-income states like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are expanding internet infrastructure such as base tower stations and increasing the penetration of internet services to new customers faster than wealthier states. Uttar Pradesh alone added close to 36 million internet subscribers between 2014 and 2018. Ordinary Indians in many parts of the country—including small towns and rural areas—can now read the news online, order food delivery via a phone app, video chat with a friend (Indians log 50 million video-calling minutes a day on WhatsApp), shop at a virtual retailer, send money to a family member using their phone, or watch a movie streamed to a handheld device.

Despite these advances, India has plenty of room to grow. Only about 40 percent of the populace has an internet subscription. While many people have digital bank accounts, 90 percent of all retail transactions in India, by volume, are still made with cash. E-commerce revenue is growing by more than 25 to 30 percent per year, yet only 5 percent of trade in India is done online, compared with 15 percent in China in 2015. Looking ahead, India’s digital consumers are poised for robust growth.

We surveyed more than 600 large and small companies in India to gauge the level of digitization in various sectors as well as the underlying traits, activities, and mind-sets that drive digitization at the firm level. We used each company’s answers to score its level of digitization and then ranked them in the MGI India Firm Digitization Index. Companies in the top quartile, which we characterize as digital leaders, had an average score of 58.2 (relative to a maximum potential value of 100), while those in the bottom quartile, the digital laggards, averaged 33.2. The median score was 46.2. A higher score indicates that the company is using digital in its day-to-day operations more extensively (implementing CRM systems, accepting digital modes of payments, etc.) and in a more organized manner (having separate analytics team, centralized digital organization, etc.) than the ones with lower scores.

Our survey found that, on average, leaders outscored others by 70 percent on strategy, 40 percent on organization, and 31 percent on capabilities (Exhibit 4).

Differences within sectors are higher than those across sectors. While some sectors have more digital leaders than others, top-quartile companies are found in all sectors—even those considered resistant to technology, such as farming or construction. Conversely, sectors with more leaders, such as information and communication technology, still have companies in the bottom quartile.

However, India’s digital leaders generally do share common traits in terms of the following areas:

• Digital strategy: Leaders are 30 percent more likely than bottom-quartile companies to fully integrate digital and global strategies and 2.3 times more likely to sell on e-commerce platforms. Leaders are 3.5 times more likely to say digital disruptions led them to change core operations and 40 percent more likely to say digital is a top priority for investment.
• Digital organization: Leaders are 14.5 times more likely than bottom-quartile companies to centralize digital management, and five times more likely to have a stand-alone, properly staffed analytics team. Top-quartile firms are also 70 percent more likely than bottom-quartile firms to say their CEO is “supportive and directly engaged” in digital initiatives.
• Digital capabilities: Leaders are 2.6 times more likely than bottom-quartile firms to use digital tools to manage customer relationships and 2.5 times more likely to use digital tools to coordinate the management of their core business operations.

The gap between digital leaders and other firms is not insurmountable. In some cases, even when the gap is large, lagging companies may be able to begin closing it by digitizing in small, relatively simple ways. Social media marketing is a good example. While bottom-quartile firms are much less likely than leaders to use social media, e-commerce, or listing platforms, each of these channels is cheap and easily accessible and there is little to stop a business owner with a high-speed internet connection and a smartphone from taking advantage of them.

For now, large companies (defined in our survey as having revenue greater than 5 billion rupees, or about $70 million) are more likely to have the financial resources and expertise needed to invest in some advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. But growing high-speed internet connectivity and falling data costs may soon make some of these technologies available to small-business owners and even sole proprietors.

Indeed, our survey found small businesses are ahead of big companies in terms of accepting digital payments: 94 percent accept payment by debit or credit card, compared with only 79 percent of big companies; for digital wallets the difference was 78 percent versus 49 percent.

Our survey found 70 percent of small businesses use their own websites to reach clients, compared with 82 percent of big companies. Small businesses are less likely than big companies to buy display ads on the web (37 percent versus 66 percent), but they are ahead of big companies in connecting with customers via social media, and more likely to use search-engine optimization. More than 60 percent of the small firms surveyed use LinkedIn to hire talent, and about half believe that most of their employees today need basic digital skills. While only 51 percent of smaller firms said they “extensively” sell goods and services on their websites (compared with 73 percent of big businesses), small businesses use e-commerce platforms and other digital sales channels just as much as large firms and are equally likely to receive orders through digital means like WhatsApp.

Companies that innovate and digitize rapidly will be better placed to take advantage of India’s large, connected market, which could include up to 700 million smartphone users and 840 million internet users by 2023. In the context of rapidly improving technology and falling data costs, technology-enabled business models could become pervasive over the next decade. That will likely create significant economic value.

We consider economic impact in three broad areas. First are core digital sectors, such as IT-BPM, digital communications, and electronics manufacturing. Second are newly digitizing sectors such as financial services, agriculture, healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing, which are not traditionally considered part of India’s digital economy but have the potential to rapidly adopt new technologies. Third are government services and labor markets, which can use digital technologies in new ways.

Core digital sectors could double their GDP contribution by 2025

India’s core digital sectors accounted for about $170 billion—or 7 percent—of GDP in 2017–18. This comprises value added from core digital sectors: $115 billion from IT-BPM, $45 billion from digital communications, and $10 billion from electronics manufacturing. Based on industry revenue, cost structures, and growth trends, we estimate these sectors could grow significantly faster than GDP: value-added contribution in 2025 could range from $205 billion to $250 billion for IT-BPM, from $100 billion to $130 billion for electronics manufacturing, and $50 billion to $55 billion for digital communications. The total, between $355 billion and $435 billion, may account for 8 to 10 percent of India’s 2025 GDP.

Newly digitizing sectors are already creating added value

Alongside these already digitized sectors, India stands to create more value if it can nurture new and emerging digital ecosystems in sectors such as agriculture, education, energy, financial services, healthcare, and logistics. The benefits of digital applications in each of these newly digitizing sectors are already visible. For example, in logistics, tracking vehicles in real time has enabled shippers to reduce fleet turnaround time by 50 to 70 percent . Similarly, digitized supply chains help companies reduce their inventory by up to 20 percent. Farmers can cut the cost of growing crops by 15 to 20 percent using data on soil conditions that enables them to minimize the use of fertilizers and other inputs.

Digital can improve government services and the efficiency of India’s job market

Digital technologies can also create significant value in areas such as government services and the job market. Moving government subsidy transfers, procurement, and other transactions online can enhance public-sector efficiency and productivity, while creating online labor marketplaces could considerably improve the efficiency of India’s fragmented and largely informal job market.

To unlock this value will require widespread adoption and implementation. The economic value will be proportionate to the extent digital applications permeate production processes, from supply chains to delivery channels. Our estimates of potential economic value depend on each sector’s digital adoption rate by 2025; where the readiness of India’s firms and government agencies is low and significant effort will be required to catalyze broad-based digitization, adoption may be low, between 20 to 40 percent of the potential. Where private-sector readiness is high and government policy already supports large-scale digitization, adoption could be as high as 60 to 80 percent.

In all, we estimate that India’s newly digitizing sectors have the potential to create sizable economic value by 2025: from $130 billion to $170 billion in financial services, including digital payments; $50 billion to $65 billion in agriculture; $25 billion to $35 billion each in retail and e-commerce, logistics and transportation; and $10 billion in energy and healthcare (Exhibit 5). Digitizing more government services and benefit transfers could yield economic value of $20 billion to $40 billion, while digital skill-training and job-market platforms could yield up to $70 billion. While these ranges underscore large potential value, realization of this value is not guaranteed: losing momentum on government policies that enable the digital economy would mean India could realize less than half of the potential value by 2025.

Digital can create jobs but will require new skills and some labor redeployment

Changes brought by digital adoption will disrupt India’s labor force as well as its industries. We estimate that as many as 60 million to 65 million new jobs could be created from the direct and indirect impact of productivity-boosting digital applications. These jobs could be enabled in industries as diverse as construction and manufacturing, agriculture, trade and hotels, IT-BPM, finance, media and telecom, and transport and logistics.

However, some work will be automated or rendered obsolete. We estimate that all or parts of 40 million to 45 million existing jobs could be affected by 2025. These include data-entry operators, bank tellers, clerks, and insurance claims- and policy-processing staff. Millions of people who currently hold these positions will need to be retrained and redeployed.

Jobs of the future will be more skill-intensive. Along with rising demand for skills in emerging digital technologies (such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and 3-D printing), demand for higher cognitive, social, and emotional skills , such as creativity, unstructured problem solving, teamwork, and communication, will also increase. These are skills that machines, for now, are unable to master. As the technology evolves and develops, individuals will need to constantly learn and relearn marketable skills throughout their lifetime. India will need to create affordable and effective education and training programs at scale, not just for new job market entrants but also for midcareer workers.

To capture the potential economic value that we size at a macro level, businesses will need to deliver digital technologies at a micro level: that is, how they use digital technologies to fundamentally alter day-to-day activities.

Three digital forces will drive these shifts: One is the greater ease with which people can connect, collaborate, transact, and share information; another is the opportunity for companies to increase productivity by automating routine tasks; the third is the greater ease with which organizations can analyze data to make insights and improve decision making.

The interplay of these forces will create new data ecosystems, which in turn will spur new products, services, and channels in virtually every business sector, and create economic value for consumers as well as those members of the ecosystem that best adapt their business models.

To highlight the kinds of business model changes that companies should predict and prepare for, we examine how this connect-automate-analyze trio can play out across four sectors: agriculture, healthcare, retail, and logistics.

Digital agriculture

India’s farms are small, averaging a little more than one hectare in size, with yields ranging from 50 to 90 percent of those in Brazil, China, and other developing economies. Many factors contribute to this. Indian farmers have a dearth of farm machinery and relatively little data on soil, weather, and other variables. Poor storage and logistics allows produce to go to waste before reaching consumers— $15 billion worth in 2013.

Digital technology can alter this ecosystem in several ways. Precision advisory services—using real-time granular data to optimize inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides—can increase yields by 15 percent or more. After harvest, farmers could use online marketplaces to transact with a larger pool of potential buyers. One such platform, the government’s electronic National Agriculture Market, has helped farmers increase revenue by up to 15 percent . Furthermore, online banking can provide the financial data farmers need to qualify for cheaper bank credit. Digital land records can make crop insurance more available. These and other digital innovations in Indian agriculture can help add $50 billion to $65 billion of economic value by 2025.

Digital healthcare

India has too few doctors, not enough hospital beds, and a low share of state spending on healthcare relative to GDP. While life expectancy has risen to 68.3 years from 37 in 1951, the country still ranks 125th among all nations on this parameter. Indian women are three times as likely to die in childbirth as women in Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa—and ten times as likely as women in the United States.

Digital solutions can help alleviate the shortage of medical professionals by making doctors and nurses more productive. Telemedicine, for example, enables doctors to consult with patients over a digital voice or video link rather in person; this could allow them to see more patients overall and permit doctors in cities to serve patients in rural areas. Telemedicine could also be more cost effective: in trials and pilots, it cut consultation costs by about 30 percent. If telemedicine replaced 30 to 40 percent of in-person outpatient consultations, coupled with digitization in overall healthcare industry, India could save up to $10 billion in 2025.

Digital retail

More than 80 percent of all retail outlets in India—most of them sole proprietors or mom-and-pop shops—operate in the cash-driven informal economy. These businesses do not generate the financial records needed to apply for bank loans, limiting their growth potential. Large retailers have their own sets of challenges. Their reliance on manual store operations and high inventory levels is capital heavy. In many cases, their marketing practices are ineffective, and their prices are static regardless of inventory or demand.

Digital solutions could reshape much of the sector. E-commerce enables retailers to expand without capital-intensive physical stores. Some do not even bother with their own website, relying instead on third-party sites such as Amazon, which offer large, ready pools of shoppers along with logistics, inventory, and payment services, and customer data analytics. E-commerce creates financial records that attest to the creditworthiness of both buyers and sellers, making it cheaper to borrow. Digital marketing can inexpensively engage customers and build brand loyalty. We estimate e-commerce in India will grow faster than sales at brick-and-mortar outlets, allowing digital retail to increase its share of trade from 5 percent now to about 15 percent by 2025.

Digital logistics

India’s economy has grown by at least 6.5 percent annually for the last 20 years. Continuing at that pace of growth would challenge India’s logistics network, which already suffers from a fragmented trucking industry, inadequate railways infrastructure, and a shortage of warehousing. India spends about 14 percent of GDP on logistics, compared with 8 percent in the United States, according to McKinsey estimates.

Digital technology can disrupt even this traditional, physical sector. The government is creating a transactional e-marketplace, the National Logistics Platform , to connect shipping agencies, inland container depots, port authorities, banks, insurers, customs officials, and railways managers. By letting stakeholders share information and coordinate plans, the platform may speed up deliveries, reduce inventory requirements, and smooth order processing. At the same time, private firms are using digital technologies to streamline operations by moving freight booking online, automating customer service, installing tracking devices to monitor cargo movements, using real-time weather and traffic data to map efficient routes, and equipping trucks with internet-linked sensors to alert dispatchers when a vehicle needs servicing. According to McKinsey estimates, digital interventions that result in higher system efficiency and better asset utilization can reduce logistics cost by 15 to 25 percent.

For India to reap the full benefits of digitization—and minimize the pain of transitioning to a digital economy—business leaders, government officials, and individual citizens will need to play distinct roles while also working together.

Business leaders will need to assess how and where digital may disrupt their company and industry and set priorities for how to adapt. Potential disruptions and benefits may be particularly large in India because of its scale, the rapid pace of digitization, and its relatively low productivity in many sectors. To benefit from these changes, companies need to act quickly and decisively to both adapt existing business models and to digitize internal operations. In this context, four imperatives stand out.

First, companies will need to take smart risks as they adapt current business models and adopt new, disruptive ones. Only 46 percent of Indian companies in our survey have an organization-wide plan to change their core operations to react to large-scale disruption.

Second, digital should be front of mind as executives plan. Customers are more digitally literate and have come to expect the convenience and speed of digital, whether shopping online or questioning a bill, but many companies have not reacted. In our survey, 80 percent of firms cite digital as a “top priority,” but only 41 percent say their digital strategy is fully integrated with their overall strategy.

Indian companies will need to invest in building digital capabilities, especially hiring people with the skills needed to start and accelerate a digital transformation.

Third, Indian companies will need to invest in building digital capabilities, especially hiring people with the skills needed to start and accelerate a digital transformation. That is challenging because many of India’s most talented workers emigrate. Companies could work with universities to recruit and develop skilled workers, beginning with digital natives who are currently in universities or have recently finished their studies. Companies also need to build deeper technology understanding and capabilities at all levels, including in the C-suite.

Finally, firms will need to be agile and think of themselves as digital-first organizations. This may need a new attitude that starts with a “test and learn” mind-set that encourages rapid iteration and has a high tolerance for failure and redeployment.

India’s government has done much to encourage digital progress, from rationalizing regulations to improving infrastructure to launching Digital India, an ambitious initiative to double the size of the country’s digital economy. However, much needs to be done for India to realize its full potential.

National and state governments can help by partnering with the private sector to drive digitization, starting by putting the technology at the core of their operations. This helps by providing a market for digital solutions, which generates revenue for providers, encourages digital start-ups, and gives individuals more reasons to go online—whether to receive a cooking-gas subsidy, register a property purchase, or access any other government service.

Governments also can help by creating and administering public data sources that entrepreneurs can use to improve existing products and services and create new ones; by fostering a regulatory environment that supports digital adoption and protects citizens’ privacy; and by facilitating the evolution of labor markets in industries disrupted by automation.

Individuals

Individual Indians are already reaping the benefits of digitization as consumers, but they will need to be cognizant that its disruptive powers can affect their lives and work in other fundamental ways. For example, they will need to be aware of how digitally driven automation may change their work and what skills they will need to thrive in the future. Individuals will also need to become stewards of their personal data and skeptical consumers of information.

While India’s public and private sectors have propelled the country into the forefront of the world’s consumers of internet and digital applications over the past few years, its digitization story is far from over.

Navigating the emerging digital landscape will not be easy, but it is one of the golden keys to India’s future growth and prosperity. Unlocking the opportunities will be a challenge for the government, for businesses large and small, and for individual Indians, and there will be pain along with gains. But if India can accelerate its digital growth trajectory, the rewards will be palpable to millions of businesses and hundreds of millions of its citizens.

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Digital India Essay for Students - 100, 200 and 500 Words

The 21st century is a digital era. Technology has revolutionised the way we live. In India, the advent of technology has brought about a new era - the digital era. Digital India is a vision of the Indian government to transform India into a digitally better economy. Here are some sample essays on digital India.

100 Words Essay on Digital India

200 words essay on digital india, 500 words essay on digital india.

Digital India is an ambitious project that has the potential to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Digital India has also opened up opportunities for school students to connect with global educational platforms. This project has enabled students to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities with the help of online resources now available.

Digital India is a mission which aims to make India a digitally empowered society. The government has launched several initiatives under the Digital India mission like Digital India Portal, Digital India Mobile App, Digital India Payment Gateway, e-Governance and the Digital India e-Vidya program.

Digital India is also making a huge impact on the educational sector. It has improved the quality of education and made it more accessible by providing online resources and services. It is a government initiative that aims to make India a global leader in the digital revolution.

Mission Of Digital India

The mission of Digital India is to make all government services available to citizens electronically. It seeks to bridge the technology divide between the urban and rural areas by providing access to digital resources and services. The project also aims to create an environment for increased digital literacy, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Digital India has made it easier for students to access educational resources online. With the help of digital India, students can access online libraries, e-books, online courses, online tutorials and so much more. The initiative has already had a positive impact on the country. It has brought about digital transformation in the areas of banking, education, healthcare, and other services. It has enabled faster, cost-effective and secure access to information and services to citizens.

What Is The Aim Of Digital India?

The aim of the Digital India project is to ensure that all citizens have access to information and communication technology, which will enable them to access government services and participate in the digital economy.

Digital India has made it possible for students to access educational and government services from the comfort of their homes. This has made it easier for students to stay connected with the world and stay up to date with new technology and trends.

Objectives Of Digital India

One of the main objectives of Digital India is to provide digital access to all citizens, especially those from the rural and under-privileged sections of the society. Digital India seeks to create a digital infrastructure that will connect rural areas and provide citizens with access to essential services such as healthcare, education, banking and other utilities.

Digital India also seeks to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. The government aims to create an enabling environment for start-ups to succeed in the digital space. This will be done by providing incentives such as tax benefits, financial assistance and subsidies.

The government also seeks to encourage more people to use the internet. To do this, the government has taken several initiatives such as providing free internet access to rural areas, setting up digital literacy centres, and providing free Wi-Fi access in public places. These initiatives are expected to increase the number of people with access to the internet, which will in turn help to grow the digital economy.

Digital India also seeks to create an e-governance system that will improve the delivery of public services. This will be done by making the government services more transparent and user-friendly.

Advantages Of Digital India

Digital India will enable citizens to access government services online. It will also enable citizens to access online education, healthcare, banking and other services.

The Digital India e-Vidya Program is a special initiative to make quality education accessible to school students. It provides free access to online study materials and video lectures for students which has made it easier for students to access the best education from the comfort of their own homes.

Students can now access healthcare services easily. Digital India has made it easier for students to book doctor’s appointments, check their health records and get medical advice online.

Digital India has made it easier for students to access government services. Students can now access government services such as the Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID and many more.

Students can now access social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This has made it easier for students to stay connected with their friends and family and stay updated with the latest news and trends.

Students can access online music streaming sites such as Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora. They can also access streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. This has made it easier for students to stay entertained and enjoy their free time.

Digital India is an ambitious project that has the potential to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. School students should learn about this project, understand its potential and be part of it – so that they can benefit from its promise of a better future.

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Paragraph on the Computer Revolution in India

Paragraph on the Computer Revolution in India!

Between the year 1955 and 2010, the computer revolution in India had been remarkably wonderful.

One of India’s prestigious publications recently published a great story on the Indian computer industry as described by Professor V. Rajaraman.

It’s been almost 55 years since citizens of India started using computers. From the year 1960 to 1970, the growth of computers had been mesmerizing as the Electronics Commission of India designed the first Trombay Digital Computer TDC-12 and successfully sold in the market.

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The progress of the Indian computer industry was remarkable in between 1970 and 1980. The fast face of computer revolution in India and computer science advancements took IT and software industry to a new height. By 1980s, Indian was one of the leading software exporters. Companies like TCS and CMC were exporting softwares worth $30 million. This was the time when things like intercity connectivity through ERNET became operational and the new National Supercomputer Centre was also established in the IISC Bangalore. The Indian IT was a full fledged industry by then. By the mid of 1980s, the Government liberalized the import of computer and its use, which gave it another boost.

The Economic freedom and globalization announced in the year 1991 had been a major trigger of the computer revolutions in India. Private IT companies like Infosys and Satyam became globally recognized players because of the liberalization. The use and application of computers in India have been so vast that it helped in employment generation for almost 2.5 million Indians by the year 2010 and brought almost US$50 billion in the country. The Elementary Education in India 2011-s12 report suggests that almost 48 per cent of India’s 1.4 million schools now have computers. The Indian Government is now planning to issue tablets to Indian students to improve education. The education panels of this country are also thinking about redesigning curriculums to integrate education and technology.

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Technical Revolution in India | UPSC Mains Essay Preparation PDF Download

Technical Revolution in India

(1) Opening    —    Present scenario.

(2) Body    —    Agriculture.

        * New varieties * Biotechnology & Genetic engineering

    —    Animal Husbandry.

        * Embryo implantation, genetic engineering, cross breeding * Better feed and fodder

    —    Operation flood.

    —    Oil seed revolution.

    —    Aquaculture.

    —    Industry—engineering etc.

    —    Nuclear Power.

        * Energy * Isotopes

    —    Space

        * Satellites * Launch vehicles  * Spin off technology

    —    Frontier areas

        * Super conductivity * Fibre optics * Robotics and AI

    —    Information Technology.

        * Super Computer  * Parallel computers

    —    Defence.

(3) Closing    —    Still non-scientific out-look of people.

    —    Problems.

        * Basic areas * Detached to social needs

    —    Need to be more user & common people oriented.

It will not be an overstatement if we say that a technology revolution is taking place in India. India has now third largest population of scientists, engineers and doctors in the world. India has not only progressed immensely in the traditional areas of agriculture and industry but is about to take a giant leap even in the new and frontier areas of science and technology like space and robotics. Today, we can proudly proclaim self-sufficiency in food and at the same time, we are slowly moving in the direction of challenging USA, France, Russia and China in the commercial space market. This all-round development can indeed be called Technology revolution.

Let us first take agriculture. We have come a long way from PL 480 days. Today, we are in a position to export food—thanks to the hybrid varieties of crops that are faster growing, more productive and more disease resistant. The tool of biotechnology and genetic engineering is being used to produce even better variety of crops. Embryo implantation, artificial insemination and cross-breeding have helped us evolve new and better varieties of cattles. It is partly because of better varieties of cows that operation flood has proved successful. And now we have evolved better oil seeds and are on the brink of yellow revolution. Aquaculture and shrimp farming has led not only to catch more fishes but even gain by export earnings.

We have developed our industries a lot. From the days when we couldn’t even produce a needle at home, we have reached a stage that aeroplanes, tractors, automobiles, earthmoving machinery, machine tools are not only being produced but even exported. Two most remarkable achievements have been in the fields of space and nuclear power.

From 1974 Pokharan test to today, we have reached to the point where we have 4 nuclear power plants and one more is coming up in Karnataka. Now, we have developed capability not only to construct plants indigenously but even produce coolants (Heavy water) and fuel (Uranium, Thorium, Plutonium). We have developed technology not only for thermal reactors but also fast breeder reactors. A number of experimental reactors are set up like Dhruva and Apsara which are being used to study radiations, produce isotopes and new particles. Isotopes are being used in medicines. Gamma rays are used for sterlizing food. These studies are also immensely useful in theoretical physics.

In space technology we launched Aryabhatta, the first indigenous satellite. Bhaskara and Rohini followed. We have already INSAT-1 series that immensely boosted telecommunication and weather forecast. Now, we are launching INSAT-2 series to replace INSAT-1 series and also to provide additional services. Also, IRS series of satellites have been launched which will help in resource mapping and study of atmosphere. We developed SLV rocket technology to launch small satellites of 100 kg. It was modified to develop ASLV to launch Rohini series. Today, we have developed PSLV to launch 1000 kg IRS satellites in sun synchronous orbits. GSLV is also being developed which herald India’s entry into global space market that is highly profitable and has a bright future.

As a spin off from space and nuclear programmes, new technologies in the field of 

metallurgy, electronics, control systems, safety equipments, radiation and isotopes have been evolved that are today being given to private firms that will help to commercialize it.

In other frontier areas like super conductivity, optical fibres and robotics, research is being carried out in IISc, IITs, BARC etc. India has been able to develop its own superconductor. Also, optical fibre technology is on the brink of being commercialised.

In the area of information technology, India has developed its own Mainframe PCs and even supercomputers. PARAM evolved by Anurag is as good as the best available supercomputers. India is also evolving AI and robotics. Already Chaturobot has been developed. Also, India has progressed immensely in telecommunications. RAX is only one example. Others include package networking, Gateways, E-Mail etc. Also, India has already commissioned INMARSAT Land Earth Station at Arvi.

India is also not lacking in defence preparedness. Be it Tank Arjun or INSAS for Army, PTA for Air Force or Missiles, India has kept itself alert and ahead...Agni, Nag, Prithvi and Akash are Indian missiles that can break enemy’s backbone.

This brief survey shows that India has indeed taken a giant leap in almost every field but we still find majority of our people are bound by obscurantist traditions, rituals and superstitions. They are ignorant and lack scientific temper. Hunger, disease and poverty has still not been won over. India has world’s one third hungry people. 40% live below poverty line. Basic education, good and cheap housing, nutritious food and safe and clean drinking water are still a dream for many. The reason is that many technologies remain in the laboratory and do not reach masses. Research is being done independently of social milieu which should not be. In addition, bureaucratisation of our institutions, also creates hurdles in the path of technology transfer from laboratory to land.

So, we should rethink our strategy, reorient our research so that it becomes practical and of direct use in uplifting standards of living. Science and technology be used to wipe tears from every eye and bring smile to every face.

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• Digital India

The First Step Towards transforming into a Digital India!

Digital India is a massive campaign that the Government of India launched in the year 2015. The implementation of this would give easy access to government services in different regions of the country. This Digital India essay in English is for the students of Class 5 and above. This essay on Digital India in English is written in an easy-to-understand manner for a better understanding of the students. Students should read the following long essay on Digital India to be able to write an essay on Digital India in 1000 words on their own.  

In the same way, the below written short essay on Digital India will help the students write an essay on digital India in 500 words on their own. 

Long Essay on Digital India  

The “Digital India” campaign was launched by the government of India to uplift the usage of technology in India. The objective was to make Government services easily available to the citizens electronically by improving its online infrastructure all over the country. The process would be structured to increase internet connectivity to make the country digitally empowered. It helps to reach out to the masses and encourages them to use technology in their daily lives. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi launched the campaign on July 1, 2015. The initiative aims at connecting rural India with the help of high-speed internet connectivity. 

There are three components at the core of the “Digital India” campaign. 

Creation of Digital Infrastructure  

To be able to deploy various digital services across the country, it is necessary to create a strong digital infrastructure, especially in rural areas of the country. The interior regions of the country either have very little or mostly do not have any electronic network. This is the reason behind establishing a digital network across the country. Bharat Broadband Network Limited, the governmental body that is responsible for the execution of the National Optical Fiber Network project is responsible for the Digital India project as well. Bharat Net aims to connect 2,50,500 gram panchayats across the country to a high-speed internet network via an optical fiber network. 4,00,000 internet points will be established all across the country as part of the program, from which anybody will be able to access the internet. 

Delivery of Digital Service  

A major component of the Digital India campaign is to deliver government services and other essential services digitally. It is easier to change the way of delivering services from physical to digital. Many services of the Government of India were digitized under the Digital India Campaign. 

All ministries would be linked under this scheme, and all departments will be able to reach out to the people with fundamental services like health care, banking, education, scholarships, gas cylinders, water and electricity bills, and judicial services. The daily monetary transactions of people were also converted into digital mode. To ensure transparency in the transactions and curb corruption all the money transactions are being made online, and are supported by one-time passwords. 

Digital Literacy  

For full participation of the people of India, the competency that they need to have is called Digital Literacy. The basic behavior, knowledge, and skills required to effectively use digital devices are mandatory. Desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones are the digital devices used for the purpose of communicating, expressing, collaborating, and advocating. The mission of Digital Literacy will be covering over six crore rural households. 

With the Digital India Programme, the Government of India is hoping to achieve all-around growth on multiple fronts collectively. The objective of the Government is to target the nine ‘Pillars of Digital India’ that are identified as follows. 

Broadband Highways 

Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity 

Public Interest Access Programme 

E-Governance 

E-Kranti 

Global Information 

Electronics Manufacturing 

Training in Information Technology for Jobs 

Early Harvest Programmes

To directly benefit the citizens of all future government schemes. 

The awareness of the importance of technology has been successfully created among the masses of India by the Digital India campaign. There has been a vast growth in the usage of the internet and technology in the past few years. The Panchkula district in Haryana was awarded the best and top performing district under the Digital India campaign on the 28 th of December 2015. 

So far, services such as digital lockers, my government website, e-education, scholarships, pensions, ration cards, PAN cards, Aadhar cards, e-insurance, and e-health have been made accessible under this plan. The goal has been established for the Digital India project to be completely implemented by 2019. 

Technology giants from all over the world paid attention to the Digital India campaign and are readily and happily supporting the initiative. Even Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, had changed his profile picture to support Digital India. He started a trend on Facebook and promised to get the WiFi Hotspots in rural India working. Google started on its commitment to providing broadband connectivity at 500 railway stations in India. Microsoft agreed on providing broadband connectivity to 5,00,000 villages in the country. Microsoft is also making India its cloud hub via the Indian data centers. Oracle planned on investing in 20 states to work on Smart City initiatives and payments. 

Some of the digital frameworks that are established under this scheme are given here: 

Accessible India Campaign and Mobile App  - It is also known as Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan. Its principal goal is to make all services open to individuals with disabilities. 

Mygov.in  - This forum allows users to voice their thoughts on the government's administration strategy. It has been implemented so that locals may actively participate. 

Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG)  - This mobile platform can be used on any device. This software is available in a variety of Indian languages. This software allows users to access a variety of services. Education portals, a digital locker, Aadhar, tax, and train ticket purchasing are among the services available. 

Agri market App  - It was created to make agricultural prices known to farmers and discourage them from selling too soon. 

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao - Ensuring the welfare and nurturing of a girl child and also making sure that every girl child attends school. 

Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) - It makes payments quickly, easily, and simply through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). It also allows the bank to accept instant payments and money collections using mobile phone numbers. 

Crop Insurance Mobile App - Used to calculate crop insurance premiums depending on numerous characteristics such as area or loan amount, if a loan is taken out. 

E-Hospital - It's an HMIS (Hospital Management Information System) for hospitals' internal workflows and operations. 

E-Pathshala - The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) created it to make all educational resources, such as books and videos, available online. 

EPFO Web Portal and Mobile App - Allow workers to check the amount of their provident fund using an e-passbook, which is a virtual equivalent of a real passbook. 

Start-up India Portal and Mobile App - It is a government of India program to encourage entrepreneurs to develop businesses (start-ups) in the country to expand sustainably. 

Benefits of Digital India

It makes health care and literacy more accessible since one may use a hospital service to receive online registration, a doctor's appointment, payment of the charge, a diagnostic test, and a blood test, among other things. 

It allows consumers to submit their paperwork and certifications online from anywhere, reducing the amount of physical work required. 

Citizens can digitally sign their records online to sign the framework. 

It benefits the beneficiaries of the National Scholarship Portal by allowing them to submit applications, have them verified, and then be paid or disbursed. 

BSNL's next-generation network will replace 30-year-old telephone exchanges for improved administration of online services on mobile devices like voice, data, multimedia, etc. 

Flexible electronics will be promoted with the support of the National Center for Flexible Electronics. 

As all transactions are completed through the digital method, it also aids in the reduction of black marketing. 

Write a Short Essay on Digital India  

A very ambitious initiative called Digital India got launched on a Wednesday, the 1 st of July in the year 2015 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi. Various top industrialists like Cyrus Mistry- the then Tata Group Chairman, Mukesh Ambani– Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance India Limited, Azim Premji– Chairman of Wipro were all present at the launch. They all shared how they plan on bringing a digital revolution to the masses of India in cities and villages. 

The execution of this program is expected to cost around one lakh crore rupees. However, Mr. Ambani, Chairman, and CEO of the Reliance Group have made a significant effort by spending 2.5 lakh crore on the digital India initiative. Many different events were held along with the IT companies to aid more than 600 districts in India. The digital India program was a big step taken by the Government of India to transform India into a digitally empowered country. 

Several schemes have been launched around this plan which are worth more than one lakh crores. They are e-health, e-sign, e-education, national scholarship portal, Digital Locker, etc. The program is such which would benefit both the consumers and the providers of the services. Free WiFi will be available in 2.4 lakh schools and institutions under this scheme so that students may work online without difficulty. A goal has been established for 1.7 lakh persons to be employed as part of this initiative. 

Summary  

A digitally connected India is aimed at the growth of the social and economic status of the masses in the country. The development of non-agricultural economic activities could pave the path for such an achievement, for providing access to financial services, health, and education. Information and Communication Technology alone cannot directly impact the overall development of a country. Basic digital infrastructure could help achieve overall development. 

Literacy and regulatory business environments also could help achieve the same. It will be a very profitable approach because it relieves the burden of spending time on paperwork and allows people to dedicate their time to other aspects of government. It is extremely efficient and beneficial for government employees who operate on a big scale.

FAQs on Digital India

Q1. What is Digital India?

It is an initiative taken by the Government of India to provide government services to citizens electronically, create digitally literate citizens, and eventually transform India into a digitally empowered economy.

Q2. Mention the Benefits of using a Digi Locker.

A Digi Locker eliminates the usage of physical documents and enables the sharing of verified documents electronically in a secure manner across government organizations.

Q3. Which Indians have played a big role in the global digital transformation?

Much like Narendra Modi, who officially launched the Digital India project in India, leaders like Nandan Nilekani, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Ruchi Sanghvi, Ben Gomes, and Rikin Gandhi have put India on the map of digital leaders and have played a big part in the global digital transformation.

Q4. In what areas is India expected to develop even more digitally in the future?

Fields like education, telecommunication, business operations, healthcare, and hospitality are areas where India is slowly but steadily transforming into a digital model.

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Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “I. T. Revolution in India” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

I. T. Revolution in India

The Advent of Information Technology Era in India 

As we look to the next century, is there some lever which can help India to leapfrog into the next century and emerge as a developed prosperous nation ? the answer is yes, and the lever is information technology.

The electronic media has ushered in a revolution of Information Technology (IT) revolution it has shrunk the world to such an extent that it could be called a ‘global village’ No achievement of science has caused about such a transformation as it has. It has catapulted the programmes of several nations and even individuals. It has opened up a infinite number of new avenues in the fields of health care, education, entertainment, communication, commerce and agriculture.

The software has acquired a sea change in the latter half of the twentieth century. This is because of the technical advancement of the hard-ware, which has enhanced memory and storage capacity to the area of application. The 1990s saw the advent of the windows operating system. It has been marketed by ‘Bill Gates’ Microsoft company. Today, it has become the most widely accepted software in the world. At the headquarters of the 8 million oracle corporation at silicon valley, US.A. 3,500 Indians software developers are employed.

The government of Andhra Pradesh has transformed the city of Hyderabad into a ‘hi-tech’ city. With this revolution, the state government would become a transparent one. Any persons could gain access to any information by browsing through the internet sites. In this ways, the bureaucracy would become accountable to the public. The evil of corruption would be drastically reduced. Hyderabad or `Cyberabad’, as it has been nicknamed, has already become a place which all global software giants visit. Karnataka information Technology Department is working towards the provision of internet connections on home television sets.

The interconnection of computers worldwide, known as the internet is revolutionizing, the concept and the conduct of business. Visual and outside access to offices worldwide through the network has given rise to virtual offices. One can have easy access to information via internet with the click of a mouse, a person can browse through the different sites available on the Internet. The importance of the Internet as an all persuasive medium of the future has been well recognised in India. A very important indicator is the number of businessmen jumping on to internet related business; Internet surfing has become one of the latest passions of the Indian youth. Multimedia has contributed to make it more colourful. Most of the newspapers have opened their sites on the internet. Which can be accessed to by a large number of readers. The All India Radio made its news accessible, when it went live on the internet of February 25, 1998. Advertisements are also inserted on the internet. Electronic Consumers has enabled business houses to conduct business transactions through the internet. Soon, our offices would be ‘Pagerless’.

With a government which has a farsighted vision, India could also become a superpower. We need politicians with faresight We have the most intelligent human resources, and all it needs is to show them a direction. As the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh has put it, “Indians are capable. We can compete with any body in the world, in knowledge, in performance, in vision….We have to create that opportunity. We have all the resources-natural and human if you have a vision, things will automatically happen.” It might take a few years but the vision of making India a “software superpower”‘ would be realised.

Information technology is the synthesis of computers and can communications but it is unique in the sense that it is a meta resource. Just as electricity can be used for a wide range of purpose. Intact there is no activity in terms of better speed, better quality of services, better employment generation and better saving of energy and so on. In other words, the Information Technology offers solutions to a wide range of problems. No wonder this Technology can be effectively employed to tackle all our national problems provided we have the imagination to use this technology to find effective solutions. Let us begin with education. Our literacy rate is 52 per cent or 62 per cent depending on the statistics you choose to believe but the fact remains that in the next century which is going to be even more technologically advanced than the 20th century a nation cannot be prosperous and developed unless it has a literate population, our highest priority therefore should be for achieving 100 per cent literacy as quickly as possible. It is here that the information technology can be of immense use. Technologies for long distances are becoming possible, thanks to I.T. The computer in the classroom can go a long way in helping the quality of educations. For instance, a software developed by Dr. Trimurthy of Vallabh Vidyanagar in Gujrat showedthat illiterate can learn Gujrati alphabet in 10 per cent of the time it takes to learn from a human teacher. On the other hand we can use I.T. for ensuring that the best teacher can teach not only the class physically present but also teach a large number of students over long distances through a computer network and technologies like video conferencing. Books, converted in to multimedia CDs, can bring the world of knowledge to schools in the remotest part of the country at an affordable cost.

There are cynics and critics that the cost is going to be prohibitive if we want to use computer in all schools. Thanks to the operation of Moor’s law, the cost of the computer is all the time coming down and the capacity goes on increasing. It is fortunate that even our political leaders seems to have realised the significance of the information technology. The Prime Minister says, “It is India’s’ tomorrow”, it is happy development that at last there seems to be healthy competition among the various states like Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujrat, Maharashtra and Karnatka to bring increasingly computers in schools.

Next to education is health. Here again with the emphasis on building a national information network, it is possible to go in for telemedicine by which doctors in districts headquarters can treat patients in the primary health centres located in villages. It is also possible through the computer networking of all primary health centres to monitor the state of health of people and particularly control diseases which are of endemic and epidemic nature.

The third problem area, of course, is unemployment. Education should be able to create opportunities for employment. For instance medical transcription is an existing growth area. Doctors in the United States examine the patients under the insurance schemes and dictate their findings. These can be transcribed by intelligent stenographers in India connected through the satellite network. Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Coimbatore nearly 1000 people are employed in the activity. According to Dr. Viswanathan of Indian National Science Documentation Centre, Bibliographic database is a computer networks related industry which can create three lakhs to 30 lakh jobs in the country.

Perhaps the most dramatic development in information technology is the expressive growth of internet. This in turn has given rise to electronic Commerce when television became prominent in 60’s. Prof. Marshall said that the medium has become the message. In fact, internet which is the medium for communication in today has become the market place. If India were to follow an imaginative policy and declare a tax holiday for e-commerce for the next 10 years up to year 2010. India can become a major player in e-commerce. Apart from the special information technology related business like software where India’s prowess is recognized; applying I T in any industry will help in improving the quality of services and saving energy. For instance, applying Statistical Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) is possible to reduce transmission losses in electricity distribution. Every megawatt of powers thus saved in turn will create job opportunities because power is one of the basic infrastructure requirements for economic development.

The last major national problem is infrastructure. I T can help in effective project management so that there are no time and cost overruns in major infrastructure projects like power, energy, petroleum ports etc.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai used to say that developing countries like India which are latecomers in technology have an advantage over developed countries because they can leapfrog through intermediate stages of growth followed by developed countries. They can avoid the mistakes committed in the past India’s particular strength and skills in software and powerful recognitions in augurs well for IT emerging as a spring board for India to leapfrog into the next century.

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Essay on Importance of computer

Since 1944, when Prof. Aikens of the Harvard University U.S.A., designed the first computer, we have come a long way. Today the world is on the threshold of a computer revolution. In fact, in the decades to come. computers are going to play a very crucial role in the life of man.

Already there is hardly any field of activity in which computers cannot help us. They are helping a man in a fantastic range of fields: agriculture, industry scientific research, machine design, banks, aviation, space research, medical diagnosis, traffic control and art and literature.

Computers have some special features which make them extremely useful to man. They are designed in such a way that they rarely make a take. Unlike human beings they do not get tired.

The same computer can do a variety of jobs. No wonder the computer is considered to be the greatest invention of man. Aided by computers, man has become capable of feats he had never dreamt of.

Computers have become indispensable in industry and business. They have been installed in business houses, offices. factories, hospitals, banks petrol pumps, railway stations, etc. and have taken the drudgery out of the life of the clerical staff.

The stuffy, overcrowded air and rail reservation offices in most cities are being replaced by air-conditioned ones that have neat rows of booking clerks seated behind terminals, punching out tickets rapidly.

In commercial and business houses they are keeping track of files and vital statistics, reviewing the achievement of targets, chalking out sale strategies, etc.

Modern medical diagnosis has become more accurate, precise and fast with the help of computers. Some of the most advanced tools are being used in medical research, diagnosis, treatment and investigation.

Machines like Cat Scan enable medical specialists to reproduce the body slice by slice and prepare films to ascertain the exact location of a disease, function of a particular organ in the body, detect any abnormalities, growth, etc. These tests help in detecting diseases like ulcers, cancers, in the early stages and have proved a real blessing to the modern man.

The development and application of computers has made space exploration possible. Spacecraft and satellites use computers to collect and transmit vast amount of data to the earth. Again the computers analyse and process this data, computers help us in the field of communication and forecasting of weather.

Agriculture is vastly benefitted by the use of computers . India has recently prepared its own super computer. It has been installed in the Indian Meteorological Department, New Delhi.

It will help in preparing weather forecasts for 3-10 days in advance. Besides, it is expected to be useful in the areas of health, agriculture and solid-state physics.

Computers have a great future in our country. India is already ranked among the leading countries producing advanced computers. Our computer industry is making progress by leaps and bounds. Its application in various fields is bound to bring about an industrial and agricultural revolution in our country.

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Essay on Super Computers Revolution in India.

India’s super computer era began when our prime minister dedicated to the nation, country’s first super computer, Rs. 15 cores US made, CRAY-X-MP 14 on 25th March, 1989.

The main application of this super computer is in medium range weather forecasting to agro meteorology programmers to agricultural operations to water resource management. It is established at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), a constituent unit of the DST (Department of Science and Technology), New Delhi.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) provides weather data of the country to it which forecasts weather conditions 3 to 10 days in advance. Other function of this super computer is to promote and undertake studies on crop-weather relationships, impact of weather and climate on pests and diseases and for development of suitable agro met models. For dissemination of agro met advisories to the farming communities, 127 Agro meteorological Field Units (AMFUs) distributed in the country according to the agro climate zones have been established in a phased manner.

Indigenously developed India’s first super computer FLOSOLVER was the product of the Bangalore-based National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in 1980. FLOSOLVER MK3 is the latest version of the system that is commissioned at the centre for Atmospheric Sciences at Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Bangalore.

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For defense research DRDO (Defense Research Development Organization) has installed a super computer called PACE (Processor for Aerodynamic Computation and Evaluation) developed by the Hyderabad based Advanced Numerical Research and Analysis Group (ANURAG). It has a peak performance of 100 megaflops. PARAM, another Indian Super Computer developed by Pune based Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), has already entered into the world market as a multipurpose high speed machine.

Several other parallel processing systems like ‘CHIPPS 16’ of the Bangalore based C-DOT, MULTIMICRO of IISc, Bangalore, ARRAY Processor of CMC Ltd. and MACH of IIT, Bombay.

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New Digital Order: A blueprint for mutual prosperity through AI governance in Korea

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This post is the foreword written by Willy Cho, Area Vice President, Microsoft Korea for Microsoft’s report New Digital Order: A blueprint for mutual prosperity through AI governance in Korea. Read the full report in English and Korean .

South Korea is on a fast track to achieve AI Everywhere, with instances of AI innovation manifesting across all facets of society. Key industries in Korea are at a transformative inflection point, rapidly embracing AI technologies, and Microsoft has been an indispensable partner in this journey.

Example 1) An exemplary case of this collaboration is in the field of senior healthcare, where we are addressing Korea’s challenge of an aging population. Together with Microsoft, Professor Howard Lee from Seoul National University’s Center for Convergence Approaches in Drug Development is conducting research on algorithms aimed at enhancing drug repurposing, which involves discovering new therapeutic uses for drugs, as well as AI-driven improvements to clinical trial design. The outcomes of this research include valuable insights into maximizing cost-effectiveness and improving the accuracy of clinical trials.

Example 2) Microsoft is also supporting research on deep learning for structure-based drug design, led by Professor Choi Sun at Ewha Woman’s University’s Global AI Drug Discovery Research Center. This research has succeeded in rapidly screening molecules with targeted properties and compounds with high binding affinity by analyzing protein and compound data with AI. Microsoft’s domestic AI research collaborations are contributing to significantly reducing the time and cost of drug development in healthcare and improving drugs’ medical efficacy, thereby easing the financial burden of managing geriatric diseases on the national healthcare system.

Example 3) More recently in March 2024, the potential of AI in educational settings has been explored through the lens of a project at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Professor Alice Oh and her team embarked on a journey to harness the educational benefits of AI while mitigating the risk of it being used for shortcuts in academic work. Their solution came in the form of a chatbot developed with support from Microsoft Research’s Advancing Foundation Models Research (AFMR) initiative, launched in April 2023. This initiative aims to propel the development and application of foundation models across various disciplines by providing academic researchers with access to advanced AI models through Azure AI Services. The chatbot developed by Oh and her team is designed to assist English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students with their essay writing, offering guidance without writing the essays for them. Throughout a semester, 213 EFL students interacted with the chatbot, engaging with it as an intelligent peer and utilizing its feedback to refine their essays. The success of the project underscores the significant potential of generative AI in education, particularly in fostering a deeper understanding of problem-solving processes among students. The impact of AI extends beyond the healthcare sector, permeating major domestic industries such as semiconductors, education, batteries, finance, telecommunications, manufacturing, and content. As AI continues to drive scientific innovation and socioeconomic transformation, Korea is gearing up to reap its benefits to the fullest. It is also important to note that the foundation of this transformation lies in the hyperscale cloud infrastructure. This infrastructure provides the scalability and flexibility required for rapid innovation and robust AI applications.

AI governance in Korea

In pace with the rapid technological advancements and transformation triggered by AI, Korea was one of the first countries in the world to release a set of widely applicable principles that highlight the importance of grounding and guiding the use and development of technology such as AI in the digital space. ‘The Digital Bill of Rights: Charter for the Values and Principles for a Digital Society of Mutual Prosperity’ lays out the guiding framework for Korea’s vision on AI and influences the country’s legislative, regulatory, and operational approaches to AI. Korea’s vision for AI, as articulated by its government, is rooted in three core principles: 1) Responsible AI, 2) Inclusive AI, and 3) Sustainable AI.

Microsoft’s own principles for AI closely align with the principles of the ‘Digital Bill of Rights.’ Our focus is on Responsible AI, which emphasizes transparency, fairness, ethics, and accountability, while considering societal impacts and privacy. We also aim for Inclusive AI, ensuring equitable access and benefits for everyone. Moreover, we are dedicated to Sustainable AI, utilizing it for the betterment of humanity and minimizing adverse effects.

Moreover, our commitment is also to empowering a vibrant and open market for AI to flourish. During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in March this year, we unveiled our commitment to responsible AI through the announcement of our ‘AI Access Principles.’ The 11 principles fall under 3 major themes: 1) Providing access and support for AI developers who create models and applications, 2) Ensuring choice and fairness across the AI economy, and 3) Meeting our societal responsibilities.

The ‘AI Access Principles’ serve as our compass, guiding Microsoft’s role and responsibility as an AI innovator and market leader. Our principles signal a profound shift, they pledge Microsoft to unprecedented investments, robust business partnerships, and expansive programs aimed at fostering innovation and competition. We recognize that AI’s transformative potential extends beyond corporate boundaries; it touches lives globally. By articulating these principles, we commit to providing broad technology access empowering organizations and individuals worldwide to wield AI for the greater good. Our initiatives around the world, including substantial AI datacenter investments and skilling programs, underscore our dedication to translating these principles into action.

Road to 2024 Seoul AI Safety Summit

As we approach the 2024 Seoul Safety Summit in May, we reflect on the strides made in the field of AI and the importance of ensuring its responsible development and deployment. The Summit serves as a platform for thought leaders, innovators, and policymakers to come together and discuss the guiding principles that will shape the future of AI. We applaud the Korean government’s efforts to work together with the global community to develop AI safety governance and policies that are globally coherent and foster a safe but collaborative approach to AI. Korea has a unique opportunity to take full advantage for global leadership in AI Safety governance in the upcoming 2024 Seoul AI Safety Summit by imploring and inspiring other nations, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, to come together and cooperate for international regulatory coherence, as the world seeks to ensure safer governance of AI. This would help to foster trust, collaboration, and innovation across borders and sectors, and enable Korea to become a hub in the Asia-Pacific region for AI safety governance.

Article 28 of the ‘Digital Bill of Rights,’ which implores nations and companies to come together and cooperate to create universal digital norms and mechanism, could be leveraged, and specified as guiding principles for AI safety governance of highly advanced AI, i.e., Frontier AI. For example, Governments, Companies, Civil Societies, and Academia should:

• Work together in support of one another to develop universally coherent AI safety standards. These standards would provide guidance and benchmarks for ensuring the quality, reliability, and security of AI systems and their outcomes.
• Increase investments in developing evaluations for highly capable AI and foster partnerships for sharing best practices around how to develop and conduct these evaluations. Evaluations are essential for assessing the performance, impact, and risks of AI systems and ensuring that they align with the intended goals and values. By sharing best practice, countries can learn from each other and improve their evaluation methods and frameworks.
• Work to develop and implement policies for the identification, assessment, and management of risks related to highly capable AI models.
• Work to enhance transparency concerning the capabilities and risks of AI models and systems, and the policies and practices to ensure safety.
• Continue to evaluate and improve internal governance policies to make AI safer and more transparent. This would include compliance monitoring, and clear delegation of related roles and responsibilities for internal governance on AI safety.

In closing…

I would like to highlight that Microsoft is honored to be working with the National Information Society Agency (NIA) in developing this paper and hope it serves to demonstrate our commitment to the core principles embedded in Korea’s ‘Digital Bill of Rights’ as well as Microsoft’s ‘AI Access Principles’ which echo and resonate deeply with one another.

This partnership and our continuing activities in the global AI domain emphasize Korea’s position as a visionary leader in influencing global norms in AI governance.

We invite you to explore this whitepaper — a roadmap toward mutual prosperity through responsible AI governance. This whitepaper provides a comprehensive exploration of Korea’s strides in AI governance, reflecting our ongoing efforts to promote responsible, inclusive, and sustainable technological innovation on a global scale.

Together, let us navigate the digital frontier, ensuring AI serves humanity’s best interests.

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