Hyderabad: One of the big outcomes of the Coronavirus pandemic has been the rise of digitisation in different sectors and spheres of life. And while the private sector has always been at the forefront of this adoption, the government still has a long way to go, opined Telangana IT and industries Minister K T Rama Rao.
Speaking at a virtual digital summit titled Digital Revolution in Post Covid Era: Touching Lives & Enriching Businesses organised by CII, the minister elaborated on how technology implementation in government and government-run services has been selective and in small portions. He called for more collaboration between different States in India and urged the Centre to give more levy to States to set up more manufacturing parks which will in turn encourage Prime Minister’s call for Vocal for Local.
“Digitisation has become the need of the hour and if it has to flourish then we need three things — digital literacy, digital infrastructure and digital innovation. While the National Digital Literacy Mission needs to be strengthened it is also important that States also concentrate on digital literacy. In terms of infrastructure, as a nation we need to look at digitisation as a basic right so as to make a digital revolution. And finally, it is also important that digital innovation reaches each and every citizen,” Rama Rao said.
He informed that while India’s ability to lead large corporates is recognised worldwide, we are still considered to be a services oriented nation and for this to change the Centre and State governments need to encourage more product companies from India and design strategies and policies for this endeavour.
“Covid-19 has brought out how government’s can reinvent themselves digitally. Lot more can be done and needs to be done in government and government services for the digital revolution to take place. The growth of 18 per cent in Telangana’s IT exports has been majorly contributed by the industry with the government just being an enabler,” he said.
He elaborated on how TWorks — India’s largest prototyping facility — has developed a low-cost ventilator and how the State is using different technologies like drones, robots and Artificial Intelligence for surveillance and essential goods delivery. The State is planning to collaborate with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and private agencies to see how it can use drones to deliver medicines to doorsteps, he added.
Addressing the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), secretary, Ajay Prakash Sawhney as part of the summit, Rama Rao said that the government must not let go of this opportunity to encourage electronics manufacturing in India. “The Centre must work with States to set up more manufacturing parks. In addition, I would also request the Centre to look at using satellite systems to impart online education and with the country’s satellite system with Centre, it would be a good move if States have their own satellite domain,” he said.
Finally, the Minister also noted that it is important for governments to enhance and concentrate on data security and create more cyber warriors by collaborating with the private sector. He also sought some kind of collaboration between States so that they can learn from each other on best and next practices and not compete with each other. “We are operating in silos and we don’t know what other States are doing. We need to collaborate and leverage our minds to become a product manufacturing country,” he said.
