Economic Survey 2023 | Digital investments are India's growth magnet for coming decade

The government of India in its annual Economic Survey 2022 presented on Tuesday underscored the importance of the use of technology as the country  marches forward.  From industrial use cases to the disbursement of social welfare schemes, the survey highlighted the role that the technology has played and added that digital technology-based economic reforms are the growth magnets for the coming decade.

Further, the survey projected that the electronics exports from April to November this year will touch $13.8 billion, as against $8.9 billion in the corresponding period last year.

“Transforming welfare through technology, Aadhaar and JAM trinity have revolutionalised the universe of state-citizen interaction, enabling targeted delivery of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) through 318 Central schemes and over 720 State DBT schemes, seamless portability of ration card across States through ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ and national database of unorganised workers ‘eShram portal’,” the survey stated.

According to the survey, the government is of the opinion that any ground lost vis-à-vis social sector improvements due to the pandemic has largely been recouped, powered by prompt policymaking and efficient implementation interwoven with technology. 

“Going forward with the vision of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’, further developments will hold the key to attaining more equitable economic growth,” the survey stated.

According to the government, technology has transformed the way India loooks at delivery of public services, policy-making and healthcare.

More than 130 crore unique IDs have been generated

Direct benefit transfer (DBT) in nearly 900 central and state schemes

Over 1,500 crore transactions via Aadhaar-enabled Payment Services

Five lakh Common Service Centres for delivery of public services to every citizen

Agile and evidence-based policy making through:

CoWIN,

UMANG app

e-Shram portal

Aspirational Districts & Blocks

Jal Jeevan Mission

46 crore Jan-Dhan accounts with 56 percent female account holders

8.7 crore women mobilised into sself-help groups under DAY-NRLM

Powering efficient implementation through:

Geo-tagging of 5.2 crore MGNREGS assets and 7.7 lakh rural facilities

Drone survey of 2.1 lakh villages under SVAMITVA

9.3 crore e-Sanjeevani teleconsulations

517 crore learning sessions in DIKSHA portal

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)

Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

As per the survey, taking digitisation and technology to the rural economy has also been a key aspect of the rural development agenda, be it in agricultural activities or governance. 

“History suggests that when different aspects of human development like education, skill, employment, health, and rural development are dovetailed with technology, all-round revolutionary innovation resulting in technology-led growth and prosperity follows,” the report added.

Technology has been a great enabler in ensuring the last-mile connectivity of government schemes to the targeted citizens. It has revolutionised the delivery of services while ensuring transparency and accountability. It needs to be harnessed further to help the government attain the lofty SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) on the social front. 

The advent of the fourth industrial revolution or industry 4.0 as it’s commonly referred to, has begun, the survey said. 

“The transformation integrates new technologies such as cloud computing, IoT, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) into manufacturing processes, leading to efficiencies across the value chain. While the adoption of these technologies in the Indian manufacturing sector is underway, large-scale adoption is yet to happen. However, an enabling environment is rapidly developing.”

In recent years, India has made significant strides in internet penetration which is one of the key requisites of industry 4.0, the survey said. “The push towards self-reliance in semiconductor technology and production will help India erect another pillar of this revolution – hyper-efficient processing technology,” the survey added.

However, as all are not rosy, the survey suggested even as public digital platforms are increasingly becoming key to India’s digital ambitions. “NASSCOM’s quarterly review in August 2022 indicates that technology spending during FY23 is likely to see a relatively muted growth dampened by an expected global slowdown,” the survey stated.