Bengaluru: Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys Technologies, Nandan Nilekani, said on Monday that India’s digital infrastructure will play a major role in reviving the economy. He was addressing FICCI members at the National Executive Committee Meeting on ‘Digital India and its Impact on Economy and Industry’ in Bengaluru.
According to Nilekani, the country has witnessed dramatic transformation through Aadhaar-based e-KYC and online payments, and India’s digital data architecture will set the tone for business revival. “Once data becomes the basis for decision-making in many sectors, you will see a big change,” Nilekani said.
Nilekani believes that Aadhaar e-KYC has been "revolutionary" in making life simpler for people and India now has the infrastructure to deal with direct benefits transfers (DBT) in any segment. He added that DBT can revive the power sector.
According to Nilekani, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has increased the number of taxpayers. “GSTN is a great example of technology-led co-operative federalism,” he said, adding that radio frequency identification (RFID) tags linked to bank accounts is another big reform.
Speaking on the occasion, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson of Biocon Ltd, said the country’s bio-economy sector is set to reach $200 billion by 2030. “Bio-economy is a crucial segment of our economy and the new government must focus on this in a big way,” she said.
Pointing out that in India, investment in research and development is less than 1% of GDP, Shaw recommended that the country must invest at least 2% of our GDP in science, technology and research. According to Shaw, our education system must embrace research culture and we must leverage the powerful tool of scientists and engineers available in the country.
Shaw also pointed out that gene sequencing cost has come down substantially, which can be utilised for diagnosis of critical disease and in other areas. She urged FICCI to take up the changes required in the Bio-diversity Bill with the government.
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