Digital India: A great advantage during the pandemic

Five years ago, the Government of India launched the Digital India initiative, which featured the likes of a National e-Governance Plan that included things like MyGov.in and UMANG. There were also things like Digital Locker and e-Sampark. Industry leaders talk about the initiative…

Paradigm shift in India's digital transformation journey

The fifth anniversary of Digital India initiative by the Indian government marks a paradigm shift in India's digital transformation journey. Over the course of the last few years, there has been a lot of digital empowerment across sectors, which includes ITeS, BFSI, education, manufacturing and others. As the country is moving towards a cashless society and digitization, the creation of a nationwide digital infrastructure, supported with next-gen technologies-AI, Big Data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) will surely add fillip to digital transformation. In our opinion, with acceleration in remote working due to COVID-19, the Digital India campaign will further help boost the economy, as it is a problem solver for many enterprises. Digitalisation efforts, especially the automation of IT and business processes will continue to grow among companies that are geared up for the post-COVID world.

—Padmanabhan Iyer, Managing Director and Global CEO, 3i Infotech.

Brands have strengthened their digital infrastructure

The Digital India initiative from the Government is a great advantage during this pandemic, as we are witnessing curtailed offline operations today across sectors. The government on their part has been pushing for a digital approach and their initiatives has helped brands strengthen their digital infrastructure while empowering several rural and small and medium entrepreneurs to launch, promote and sell their products and services online. The Digital initiative has also made India a hotbed for startups and we are seeing its results with disruptive technologies across healthcare, education and the logistics sectors in particular. At Esper, we find this to be an opportune moment for us as a growing DevOps startup. Our device management platform is helping students continue their schools online during these trying times. In fact, our recent telemedicine update has helped patients remotely connect with their doctors on Esper managed Android devices; and we believe this can be particularly beneficial where the hospitals or schools are not accessible due to the current situation.

—Shiv Sundar, Co-Founder and COO, Esper

Most transforming moments in India’s economy

The Digital India Campaign has been one of the most transforming moments in the country's economy and due to this, we have seen several tech initiatives being rolled out in the last 5 years. One of the sectors that has benefited the most from this campaign is grocery retail and its effects have trickled down to the basic Kiranas and Mom & Pop establishments. More than a million Kirana stores have gone digital and have adopted these solutions that enable them to leverage their strengths like proximity, personal touch, and flexibility to gain a competitive edge and acquire new customers. We are seeing them use digital solutions to improve store efficiency, attract and retain customers while improving margins. Most consumers today in both cities and villages have gone online and are adapting to the digital format of shopping and cashless transactions. The current COVID-19 era has brought in new challenges/opportunities such as social distancing protocols, need for online delivery, etc. This has merely accelerated the adoption of digital solutions among the retail segment, especially the kirana store owners.

—Prem Kumar, Founder & CEO, SnapBizz.

Impressive national digital infrastructure

Digital technology has become increasingly relevant over the last few years and especially during these times. The ‘Digital India’ Campaign launched on 1 July 2015, has directly contributed towards creating an impressive national digital infrastructure and in enhancing digital literacy among the citizens of India. The initiative has also encouraged new-age companies like ours to push the boundaries of innovation and facilitate financial inclusion across different segments of the population. We are likely to witness significant advancements in techniques and applications of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Communications going forward from tech-first companies.

—Shyamgopal Kundapurkar, Director-Engineering, Capital Float.

Equip the workforce of tomorrow with relevant skills

On the occasion of 5th Anniversary of Digital India campaign, we commend the bold initiative taken by the Government of India to digitally empower a billion plus citizens. IBM is proud to be a part of this journey. In addition to bringing in our technology expertise in Cloud, AI, Data Analytics and Cybersecurity to aid key digital transformation projects, we are also collaborating with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on numerous initiatives to enable life-long learning in India and equip the workforce of tomorrow with industry relevant skills.

—Prativa Mohapatra-Vice President-Sales, IBM India/South Asia.

Digital world is on-boarding the real world

The Digital India campaign to propel us into the next generation society would not have envisaged the speed at which the country took to it. Initially by choice, and more recently by compulsion. Whatever be the drivers for the  adoption, digital transformation  is here to stay. It will continue to accelerate for the already connected communities, and will extend a digital arm for those who are yet to join the revolution. The major shift is that consumer experience is now centred around digital. And digital channels have become the primary drivers of engagement. In this age of relevance and experiences, it is the digital world that is on-boarding the real world!

—Vijaya Kumar Ivaturi, CTO, Crayon Data.

New opportunities not only within India but internationally

Persistent was an early participant in the Digital India mission. We have built cutting edge search and consumption applications with multi-lingual capabilities. Persistent is engaged with key stakeholders in Blockchain and Self Sovereign Identity areas. This mission opened up new opportunities for us not only within India but also internationally, in areas like Identity, Digital Banking, Payments, Citizen Engagement that now form components of the “Persistent Digital Greenhouse.”

—Major General Amarjit Singh, Chief Information Officer, Persistent Systems Ltd.