Education & Learning In Advanced Technologies Is Critical In Building Aatmanirbhar Bharat

There was a time when any significant change in a product or a service was attributed to the macro term ‘technology’. Deep drilling into the term has happened over the past few years and it is now that we are slowly and steadily getting exposed to the micro terms associated with the macro word ‘technology’. These include artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, 5G etc. While technology remains the persistent order the day, it is increasingly evolving leading to its advancement day by day. The global pandemic Covid-19 in a way has propelled an ecosystem where resources and investments are being deployed heavily into building digital infrastructure and bringing tech-enabled solutions to the fore.

Every now and then, we do come across articles and opinions which talk about the democratization of technology and its reach beyond the geographical boundaries. We often read about how technology has made our lives easier, simpler, better and faster, but do we ever sit back and reflect on the pace at which we are moving ahead? Do we ask ourselves if we are prepared for the future? 

Technology is bringing irrevocable changes both at the macro and the micro levels. Our lives and lifestyles are getting highly influenced by the technology available to us at our fingertips. The industries and organisations are deploying tech-savvy solutions almost every day to meet the business requirements of the future. It is also heartening to see that our country and the government is becoming keen to utilize latest technologies- artificial intelligence (AI), machine-to-machine communications and data science, to fulfil its goal of building an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (a self-reliant) India. 

According to a much recent report released by Project Management Institute (PMI), a Philadelphia-based non-profit organisation, our country is expected to invest $1 billion in AI by 2023. Although the number seems quite enormous, given the technology transformation that is happening across sectors, we could not disagree with the statistics. India is indeed looking poised and mature for a much-awaited digital revolution to unfold. 

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), quite recently, has allowed mobile operators such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, VI (formerly known as Vodafone Idea) and MTNL to conduct 5G trials in India. The Supreme Court of India successfully launched the first AI driven research portal, Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court's Efficiency (SUPACE) to leverage machine learning and deal effectively with filing of cases. Not just this, AI, ML and data analytics are also being unleashed across a wide range of industries – including power, oil, gas, mining and manufacturing. Industry-specific roles and functions like HR, Marketing, Finance, Business etc. are increasingly shifting towards a digital approach involving the tools and techniques belonging to the newer technologies, especially AI and ML. 

With Covid-19’s virulent second wave in India, we saw how advanced technology is helping save lives. Without the aid of newer and advanced technologies, it would have been almost impossible to devise life-saving drugs and vaccines over such a short span of time. All of this became feasible because of precision medicine, backed by AI and data analytics. 

India as a country successfully mobilized a laudable community support only through digital connectivity and technology. The Government of India, time and again has recognized the fact that the survival during this difficult phase, to an extent, was possible due to connectivity and digital infrastructure.

It is quite clear that going forward, advanced technologies are going to permeate deep across our lives. In such a scenario, education in advanced and digital technology gains paramount importance. Our country significantly requires a future-ready workforce who are equipped to face and stand the digital revolution. Today, on the National Technology Day, I would like to encourage young students and learners to take on the challenge and gear towards preparing themselves for the needs of the future. The future is indeed going to be driven by digitization and technology and it is these young leaders will set the motion in place. 

Vikas Gupta

Guest Author Vikas Gupta is Managing Director of Wiley India. He is a recognized and award-winning thought leader in the publishing and knowledge industry. In a career spanning over 20 years, Vikas has been a forerunner in leading many innovative products and business models in the space of technology-driven learning solutions, research and faculty development, professional certifications and skill development. He has authored/co-authored 15 books till date, and his books in the field of IT has sold over two million copies worldwide. At present, he is the Managing Director of Wiley India, Co-Chair of the FICCI Committee on Publishing and the Immediate Past President of Association of Publishers in India (API) and the promoter-member of the Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI). Vikas holds a bachelors degree in Electronics Engineering and an Executive MBA from ISB in association with Kellogg School of Management the Wharton Business School and Fundação Dom Cabral, Brazil. He also holds a PG Diploma in Printing and Publishing from London.