We all know advent of new technologies have shaped the world. Starting from invention of wheel to computers, new technologies have greatly changed the life, economy, politics of humankind.

We will today discuss some of the new technological advancements which will change our life and how should India should position itself to benefit.

  1. Advancements in energy production: We are already seeing the world move away from fossil fuels like coal and petroleum for production of electricity. The Govt is doing an excellent job in harnessing renewable energies like Solar and Wind. What It should do more is to ensure that manufacturing of solar cells, lithium ion batteries, wind mills in India so that we are not dependent on China for energy security. It should ensure availability of raw materials needed for batteries and invest in R&D for advancement of battery technologies. But, one area where I don’t see Govt is doing much is: R&D on “Nuclear fusion technologies”, we are simply reliant on ITER for that. Down the line fusion energy is going to provide a virtually unlimited source of energy, we should invest more on R&D for this new technology. Independence of fossil fuels will also reduce Islamic radicalization as a decent chunk of the petro-dollars goes towards sponsoring terrorists, radical Islamic clergy etc.
  2. Space exploration: After the renaissance, the Europeans set out to colonialize Americas, Africa etc. But those days are over. I foresee with the advancement of space and energy technologies the race for colonialization of space and planets will begin. Hence India should keep investing on space exploration, exploration of moon, mars etc. With “Nuclear fusion” technologies becoming viable, it is predicted that humans may move to other planets and build colonies there. India should be well poised to take that opportunity. The Govt recently allowed private and FDI in space sector, and the government should encourage more private participation (dump the evil communist mindset) so that the exploration of space is done at the fullest speed.
  3. Artificial Intelligence(AI) : As AI technologies have advanced, all aspects of our life has been impacted. All devices around us are becoming intelligent. Starting from detection of your face, to predicting stock markets, MRI, pathology, surveillance, self driving vehicles and traffic management are becoming more accurate. I agree with Russian president Vladimir Putin who once said “The country who masters AI will rule the world”. I foresee the warfare to change. For e.g. we killed the terrorists in Pakistan using bomber aircrafts. But, down the line, if we have an army of robotic mosquitoes with a miniature AI camera who can detect faces and on inject venom and kill. AI will however result to some job losses in areas where work is done manually, it is important the workers are reskilled to take up the new opportunities. The Govt should also ensure that the students at different levels are well versed with AI. I do see many engineering institutes incorporating AI to their curriculum which is an welcome step, the Govt should encourage all educational institutes and ensure more students have appropriate knowledge of AI. Just as Coding today is not an optional skill today, I foresee the same for AI couple of decades down the line.
  4. Internet of Things (IoT): With the advent of AI, 5G and 6G technologies the various devices like phone, cars, fan etc. will become connected. That will increase the ease of living as one can control every thing from anywhere. For e.g., I can control fan, car, pressure cooker, my PC from my phone. I don’t see much investment in institutes on this new area. We should ensure that we have manpower who are well versed with this technology.
  5. Robotics: Robotics is the byproduct of AI and IOT. We already see domestic and industrial robots in use today. This opens big business opportunity for any corporate. With the AI skillset available, Indian companies can very well harness this new opportunity.

Apart from building expertise on all the above areas Govt. should also provide lower corporate taxes for high technology companies just as China does. Define a 10% corporate tax rate for any company working on such niche technologies. Such a policy will result to more investment from foreign and domestic companies.

Hence, It is extremely important that India as a nation is well prepared to use the new innovations to its advantage. It is absolutely needed for India to be a “Biswaguru”.

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