Will India seize the wave of disruptive technology?

Date posted: Friday 12 October 2018

There are many ways to ‘Make in India’. What we know is that technology is going to be at the forefront of the quest to create more jobs in India. Technology is also reshaping every industry and setting new demands for skills in every profession. The skills needed for work are changing, literally, every day. New jobs will require specific skills—a combination of technological knowhow, problem solving, and critical-thinking skills, as well as soft skills such as perseverance, collaboration, and empathy. That means countries must invest much more—and more effectively—in their people to build human capital. For instance, digital technology helps firms to innovate and scale up quickly, challenging traditional production patterns and blurring boundaries. New business models—digital platform firms—evolve rapidly from local start-ups to global behemoths, often with few employees and tangible assets, or scale without mass. Platform-based businesses are on the rise in India too, harnessing technology to reach more people faster than ever before. The internet and digital technology are the new superhighways of trade. India, where most workers are employed in the informal sector and the participation of women in the labour force is low, has an opportunity to seize the opportunities that digital technology provides.

(Live Mint)

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