Wanted: A Golden Tech Road inspired by an ancient Indian Golden Road

It’s time to forget the Donald Trump trade war, America’s unreliability with us and their friendship with Pakistan. That’s been the case for decades actually. We will need to move forward with our own plans in order to achieve our goals in the 2020s, it’s high time.

Reverse the Brain Drain

The new US administration is chasing away all manner of Indians: From permanent residency seekers to H1B visa holders to students. If this continues, there could be a glut back at home. Indian Startups have to be even more simplified to attract talent while the government needs far more lateral entries for technocrats. The IT industry can see how to accommodate high skill professionals should they decide to come. If you look at our digital record in the last decade and the future growth trajectory of the Indian economy, you will notice that we have enough to absorb a large tech force should they decide to return.

Diversify to other countries

If our talent is good enough for America, then it is good enough for the rest of the world. Tie up with more and more developed countries so that our students and professionals can be trained there. This will help us for a global tech network with the entire world and America will fall in line.

Sign trade deals

America is a bully. It will be difficult to get a great deal for us. We should engage with other countries on an equal basis. That way we have signed a really good deal with the UK that will help our qualified professionals, especially in AI. This treaty is well-intentioned and directionally correct. If we can clinch a similar deal with the EU, with similar ideals, then it would be huge for after US-China, this is the most prized bloc.

Boost defence tech 

We have really enhanced our defence capabilities and have started exporting to the world big time. We are on our way to becoming a soft power in this. Such industries will help us counter the US. The way we handled Pakistan recently was all due to high-tech weapons, many of them indigenous.

The Golden Road

In The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World, historian William Dalrymple talks about the pre-eminence of India in trade in the ancient ages. We established peak of Indo-Roman trade once and a record number of Roman coins have been found in India. We spread goods, mathematical and astronomical ideas far and wide. Most of history we have been in the Top 2 GDPs and we are currently racing to the No. 3 position. Thousands of years ago we were a sophisticated trading nation while a lot of the West was rural in nature. These cycles come and go and it’s time for an Indian “up”.

It is time for us to build a new Golden Road on the information superhighway, based on technology and AI. Already Indian services have become a powerhouse for the developed world. America is dependent on us. They cannot afford a battle with us on this front. We are the drug factory of the developing world. This happened during the African AIDS crisis and was cemented during Covid, where we achieved a remarkable upgrade. In the smartphone era we are flourishing with handsets in villages, mobile broadband and a multitude of apps.

Replacing the dollar?

This is not as outlandish as it sounds. In the past dictators Muammar Gadaffi and Saddam Hussein tried this in a ham-handed manner and did not survive. But now the Global South has got together to mount a challenge.

We have reached a stage where BRICS Bank, BRICS Pay, UPI and a few other systems could take over the financial system of the world. It may not happen overnight, but it will take a long time. The West will fight tooth and nail; that’s why Trump hates BRICS. In the past the French franc, Venetian ducat, and Spanish dollar were all powerful. Then the pound sterling gave way to the dollar. The dollar will not last forever. One mistake the global payment system SWIFT did was kicking Russia out of the system after the Ukraine war. Now any country knows it too can be targeted such. We need a more democratic and new-age financial system around.

In the world, India has the highest population, the highest working youth and its stream of engineering college students. That is unlimited potential. If we could tap all that, we would surely become a tech powerhouse for the ages. And take the entire world along with us with a Golden Tech Road.