DeepTech for the Next Trillion Economy

Dataquest recently hosted the second edition of DQDeepTech Virtual Event themed Unlocking the Next Tech Frontier. The inaugural address on DeepTech for the Next Trillion Economy was delivered by Manoj Kohli, Country Head, Softbank India.

Kohli in his address noted India has been moving forward during the pandemic. The key players -- industry, entrepreneurs, and the government have collaborated to nurture and adopt future technologies. India is gaining ground geo-politically. Multiple technologies are gaining ground significantly. In the next 10 years, the impact of technology will be bigger than the last 100 years.

Every facet of our lives are today facilitated or helped by new technologies. Ease and convenience of living is becoming better. India's technology landscape is at par with the world. On fintech, India is leading the world. India's masses are also very open and flexible at adopting technologies.

Deep tech is a hard technology area. Technical solutions are based on scientific and engineering challenges. Examples are global warming, fighting cancer, traffic congestion, etc. Digital technology has built a strong foundation in last 5-7 years. India has got good penetration in digital. That's a great foundation for deep tech to take off now. Software development has been a great industrial theme for the last 2-1/2 decades. There are players such as Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL, and many others, who have become global. Now, the transition is towards AI/ML, robots, drones, blockchain, etc. Many of these technologies are being utilized by the Indian companies.

India's defense production is also moving to India's technology. From a large importer of defense equipment, India will now become a large domestic manufacturer and exporter in the next 10 years. The PLI scheme will help India. We now need to build and foster a deep tech ecosystem. This is very important so that India becomes a deep tech destination for massification. In India, regulations are becoming friendlier. Technology regulations have to move with technology. Government is trying to keep pace with technology evolutions and have policies that are conducive. The public acceptance has been very good in India. Therefore, massification of deep tech will be India's greatest benefit, and for global technologists and investors. They will come and do pilot projects in India. Once successful, they will massify. At Airtel, I could do small pilots for new technologies in places such as Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, etc., and then massify it.

As for the ecosystem developers, the government is already leading. Many academic institutions, such as IITs, IIITs, engineering and software colleges can also join. The investors also have to be attracted to India. Many technology investors are already looking at India. Policy makers are keeping an eye on technology advancements. Media can also play a role for new mission. They can educate the youth for deep tech future. Many of the CEOs and future CEOs are coming from small and medium towns. It also means children in these places are also adopting technology. They are understanding many new technologies that India has to utilize. Revolution is from the small and medium towns. and it will go down to villages also. Fortune lies at the bottom of the pyramid.

Deep tech transformation will take off in the next 2-3 years. It will also take place in social transformation. There will be more employment of talent from small and medium towns. Their future lies in deep tech. The next 10 years will see huge social transformation, led by deep tech in India. Industries and brick-and-mortar companies have to digitize and adopt digital technologies. They can become global leaders because deep tech will help them take leadership, sustain it, and build partnerships.