Digital technologies can add $101 billion to India's GDP by 2020, predicts Accenture study

The increased use of digital technologies could boost productivity for the world’s top 10 economies and add US$1.36 trillion to their total economic output in 2020, according to a new study by Accenture. The study is based on the Accenture Digital Density Index, a tool that helps companies make better strategic investments based on granular measures of digital performance.

The Accenture Digital Density Index measures the extent to which digital technologies penetrate a country’s businesses and economy. A country’s “digital density” is determined by a scorecard comprising over 50 indicators, such as the volume of transactions conducted online, the use of cloud or other technologies to streamline processes, the pervasiveness of technology skills in a company, or an economy’s acceptance of new digitally driven business models.

At its broadest level, the Index reveals that a ten point improvement in digital density (on a 100-point scale) over five years would lift GDP growth rates in advanced economies by 0.25 percentage points, and by 0.5 percentage point in emerging economies. That would give the U.S. an uplift to GDP of US$365 billion in 2020. Emerging economies, such as Brazil, India and China could see rises of between $97 billion and $418 billion.

The report predicts that usage of digital technologies will help in adding as much as US $1.36 trillion to the GDP of the world's top ten economies by 202

0. India is expected to add $101 bn to its GDP by 2020. Overall China leads the race with digital technologies projected to raise China's GDP by $418 bn; while the US is expected to add $365 bn, followed by Japan at $114 bn. Globally, India is ranked fourth.

“As companies become more digitally enabled, so digital density should rank alongside access to natural resources, a good transportation system, and skilled people in their list of location criteria,” said Bruno Berthon, managing director, Digital Strategy, Accenture Strategy. “Being digitally competitive means applying new technologies to a range of performance areas, from sourcing labor and automating processes to creating new goods and services. The Accenture Digital Density Index’s 50 indicators show that being digital cannot depend on a handful of well-intentioned but narrow initiatives. Improving digital competitiveness requires a broad, interrelated, program of actions by governments and businesses.”