Technology and cloud to build a better India
3 min read 22 Mar 2023, 10:21 PM ISTData and access to advanced tech will continue to transform every facet of our lives
PremiumIn today’s world, the growing volume of data is driving advances in technologies, such as cloud computing, combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). From energy production, storage and consumption, to supply chains, and the usage of purpose-built chips, the ubiquity of data and access to advanced technologies will continue to transform every facet of our lives.
Given the economic uncertainty, technology will help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Businesses and citizens will rely more heavily on the agility, efficiency, scalability, and potential for innovation that technology provides. When viewed through the lens of supply, demand, and impact on the world economy, India is one of the world’s most promising geographies for technology.
A new India—one of the world’s largest technology hubs
India is the world’s third largest startup ecosystem, and is fast becoming the SaaS factory for the world. We are now home to more than 80,000 active startups, 107 unicorns with $341 billion valuation, and 80 new startups being born every day. Startups in India are building both for Indians and the world, as witnessed through the transformation journeys of household names such as Zerodha, Bigbasket, Swiggy, MakeMyTrip, Meesho, Dream11, Oyo, and Zomato.
And it’s not just startups. As many as 63 million small and medium businesses (SMBs) are digitizing and innovating, contributing to a third of India’s employment and about half of our exports. SMBs are hungry for technology that is simple and easy to access, and deploy. We are delighted to support the SMBs and startups of today that will be the digital businesses and enterprises of tomorrow.
Digital skills can spur economic growth
India has a virtually unlimited supply of talent. Over half our population is still under 30 years, and 43% have access to internet with over a billion screens. We are producing 215,000 computer science graduates annually, 3X the number US produces. We have more than 5 million developers, and 16% of global AI talent comes from India. These factors make India an exciting destination for tech businesses to hire and build at scale.
Democratization of cutting-edge technologies
India’s distinct model for digitization, fuelled by the rapid democratization and simplification of cutting-edge technologies, is positively impacting the world. In healthcare, for example, the government-led Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is driving growth in the digitization of healthcare. This opens up opportunities for innovative solutions in diagnostics, patient care, telemedicine, and vaccination not just for India, but for the world.
Cloud is now a must for India’s businesses and citizens
Cloud reacts well to uncertainty, and can help Indian businesses as they scale and innovate. Cloud is reinventing virtually every industry through use cases and applications, including hyper-personalization, digital payments, fraud detection, intelligent manufacturing, biometric identification, and voice-enabled machine interactions, among others.
In sports, for example, ML and stream processing will transform and redefine how both professionals and amateurs play—and experience—every game.
With cloud becoming mainstream, the number of workloads as well as breadth of applications continue to expand, enabling a new generation of mobile-first companies in India to innovate and scale on the cloud. An example is Paytm, a leading payments app in India, which uses cloud to manage more than 1.8 million daily transactions and process over 7TBs of data.
India’s growth story, accelerated by the cloud
The overall India public cloud services market is expected to reach $13 billion by 2026, according to IDC, led by verticals such as banking and financial services, manufacturing, public sector, media, and gaming. Several leading organizations in India, such as Axis Bank, Apollo Tyres, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, SonyLiv, or Tata Elxsi, are innovating on cloud. The possibilities to grow and scale with technology are endless. The recent Avatar movie, creating buzz for its amazing special effects, was rendered on the cloud. With the massive growth of cinema, OTT and media in India, it’s not hard to imagine that the next such sci-fi blockbuster could be produced out of India! As India looks towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, it is emerging as an exciting playground for businesses to invent, build, and scale.
Puneet Chandok is the president of commercial business at Amazon Web Services (AWS) India & South Asia.
