Digitisation has proved to be a great democratiser in India, doing away with hierarchies, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said on Monday at a national conference on the future of digital economy in Delhi.
“Digital is (also) throwing up as many challenges as answers,” she added, referring to the growth of AI (artificial intelligence) and how it may make many jobs obsolete.
In fact, another speaker at the conference organised by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) said that once AI comes into its own, as much as 70 per cent of the present jobs could get vulnerable. “But, it’s not the jobs, it’s the tasks that are being replaced… fresh opportunities are emerging,” added naukri.com founder Sanjeev Bikchandani.
Sundararajan in her keynote address pointed out how digitisation has benefited India. “Unlike other places, Indians in rural areas have adapted to internet usage readily… Indians have been less ambivalent.” she pointed out. “Digital is critical for both growth (economic) and development (social).”
For India particularly, digitisation has helped it leapfrog over many steps and procedures on the development ladder, something that would be difficult or time consuming in the conventional brick-and-mortar economy. For example, Sundararajan pointed out the growth of banking and financial apps, “They have grown hugely, triple fold often.”
The conference in particular focused on data privacy, and specially the government’s Personal Data Protection Bill. Drafted by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), the bill is expected to be tabled in June at the first session of Parliament after the general elections. “Data is relevant to everyone,” said MeitY joint secretary Gopalakrishnan S. “This bill will put a system in place which prevents or minimises harm. Its purpose is to ensure that the citizen is not harmed due to 'surveillance capitalism'.”
