Accelerating the Digital India story with Amitabh Kant at Microsoft Future Ready

Technology can enable policymakers and industry to achieve new growth goals for India. Is it the best time for India to rebrand itself as a technology superpower or a country that is truly technology future-ready?

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog reflects on the promise and prospects of India’s digital ecosystem, and how everyone has a role to play in accelerating India’s position on the global stage. “We are doing a lot in terms of making India go-green in the context of renewables and hydrogen. That story is still unfolding… You will see India taking the global lead in this area in the next three to four years,” Amitabh Kant said in a fireside chat with senior journalist and founder of Editorji Technologies, Vikram Chandra.

Watch the full conversation here:

Amitabh Kant is one of the names behind the massive push on UPI, financial stack and other technologies. On his thoughts about India being globally accepted as a place from where innovative technologies and products can come, making India a leader, he referred to increased adoption of UPI and trinity of JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobiles). “From biometrics to e-lockers, digital signature, everything, India has grown and evolved hugely in terms of technology.”

Earlier, it would take almost nine months for doing KYC (Know Your Customer) whereas it takes less than a minute with the help of biometrics, which is a paradigm shift for India, he reflected.

“I haven't used my credit card or even chequebook in the last two years. I just use my mobile phone for payments, like most of the young Indians. We have made a massive quantum jump as far as UPI is concerned. The change has been transformational,” he says with a smile.

This shift is not just limited to payments, but technology has helped Indians get access to niche spaces like insurance and stock markets, thanks to many young unicorns.

Technology also has a role to play in bridging the digital divide, transforming some of the most backward districts of India. India needs a digital infrastructure to drive rapid transformation.