100^th anniversary

Institution of Engineers India

 International Conference

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

21 August 2019

 REMARKS

High Commissioner Tanmaya Lal

Hon. Minister for Technology, Communication and Innovation, Yogida Sawminaden
President of Institution of Engineers of Mauritius, Mr. Raj Prayag
President of Institution of Engineers of India, Dr. Gunaraja
Vice President of World Federation of Engineering Organisation, Mr. Martin Manuhwa
Chairman of the Organising Committee Mr. Shyam Roy,
Distinguished guests,

Friends,

May I begin by thanking the organizers for engaging with the High Commission of India and to invite me here today. May I also congratulate the Indian Institution of Engineers on their landmark 100^th anniversary.

As a fellow engineer, by qualification even if no longer practicing, I am excited to be here this morning to attend a Conference on Disruptive Technologies.

Use of tools defined the evolution of our species and made us human. Technological advancements have continued to mark civilizational progress as well as leadership of societies.

Over the last two centuries, the pace of change picked up with the First Industrial Revolution driven by control of steam energy that mechanized production; the Second being led by the control of electricity that transformed communication, transport and manufacturing; and the Third pushed by computing machines and internet connectivity.

The 20^th century saw us exploring and developing the skills to manipulate the atom, the cell, and the byte. The Fourth Industrial Revolution that is upon us now is fusing the physical, digital and biological spheres.

Today Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data analytics, Blockchain, Robotics, 3D printing, Drones, Genomics, Nano technology, Cloud computing, collaborative consumption, energy storage, geospatial analytics, 5G are all driving this change.

Intersection of technologies is creating an unprecedented multiplier effect. It is disrupting traditional services, education, entertainment, commerce, healthcare, banking, media, manufacturing, travel, law, governance, safety, and politics globally. It is rapidly transforming our lives as individuals, societies, economies and nations.

The future is exciting and unpredictable and, perhaps, a bit intimidating too.

Friends,

Most of you are experts that drive the technological and entrepreneurial aspect of this change. I represent the government sector whose representatives also have an important responsibility to anticipate changes; recognize the potential of technology to scale up interventions to drive social and economic progress and inclusivity; provide regulatory frameworks and ecosystems to facilitate and manage change at a broader level.

Unlike in the past, the capacity of developing countries to adopt disruptive technologies is increasing. As is its potential to enable economies and societies to leap frog to the next stage of development.

Although we can debate about what constitutes a disruptive technology, the impact of emerging technological trends on consumers equally in developed and emerging economies is for all to see.

Disruptive technologies are not only found in smart homes with voice-user interface but also in the empowerment of the poor and the rural farmers through financial inclusion of the unbanked, affordable agritech, improved healthcare and delivery of e-services.

Friends,

India represents one-sixth of world’s population. The Indian economy is today already among the fastest growing large economies representing a huge market with a cost effective large skilled manpower, researchers and engineers and proven capabilities in a range of high technology areas such as space, nuclear, biotechnology etc. The second Indian Mission to the Moon Chandrayaan is currently underway.

As those coming from India are aware, the Government of India is placing high value on the use of digital technologies, internet connectivity, smartphone connections and unique biometric based identity cards to scale up financial inclusion and delivery of e-governance.

This is cutting corruption, improving efficiency and transparency and reaching government interventions to hundreds of millions of poor and vulnerable sections of society. Similar interventions in digital payment platforms are boosting e-commerce.

Interactive agriculture apps to provide information ranging from soil and water condition and weather and pests to farmers and link them to markets, facilitating farm loans are helping improve productivity.

Interactive technology interventions are helping improved reach of healthcare services for instance through real-time information on availability of particular vaccines in remote rural areas.

Innovation will also transform not only manufacturing but the transport, power, water and sanitation sectors as well. Distributed power, hybrid photovoltaic-plus-storage, mini-grids and off-grids, electric vehicles on the one hand, GIS and Big Data analytics for real time tracking of goods and people, internet enabled ride-hailing services and e-logistics, rooftop and hydroponic farming, nano-satellites among others.

Structural reforms are underway in areas such as taxation and IPRs that are fast pushing India up the global ladder in terms of Ease of Doing Business, Innovation, and Competitiveness.

The Government of India is focusing on a series of other initiatives such as Digital India to expand digital infrastructure; Innovation Mission to support incubation and innovation; Start Up India to support entrepreneurship and Skill India to provide useful skills, to provide an enabling ecosystem of public-private partnership. The Government has announced a National Programme on Artificial Intelligence. Guidelines for Drone operations beyond line of sight are being finalized. Mumbai now hosts a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network hub of the World Economic Forum.

Nearly 1.2 billion Indians now have a digital identity. The internet base in India has crossed the 500 million mark that includes 200 million rural users. India is estimated to be the world’s largest mobile data consuming country. The cost of mobile data is among the lowest in the world. Around 350 million new bank accounts have been opened in the last 4 years.

Friends,

As we go along we will improve our understanding of the potential areas of risk such as personal data privacy, cybersecurity, ethical standards, loss of certain kinds of conventional jobs in administration or manufacturing to AI and automation, and even their impact on basic human rights in certain instances.

We also need to see at the level of international community as to how to promote greater international collaboration and regulation where needed to better manage change. At the level of United Nations, a High Level Panel set up by the UN Secretary General has also come up with a Report on Digital Cooperation.

It is, therefore, good to see that a Conference on this important theme affecting all of us is taking place in Mauritius, a developing country, a large Ocean state, an international financial services hub and a member of the African Union.

May I wish the Conference insightful deliberations.

Thank you.