One realisation that found its way into the Finance Minister’s Budget speech was that “combining cyber and physical systems have great potential to transform not only the innovation ecosystem but also our economies and the way we live”
February has started with a bang. On the one hand was a budget presented by the FM which was understandably pro-poor, pro-farmer and pro-education and on the other was the news of electoral setbacks for the ruling party in Ajmer and Alwar.
The budget itself has created disappointment in the middle class and the investor community with the slippage in fiscal deficit, the capital gains tax and no significant benefits for the salaried section of society. However, all the sacrifices will be worthwhile if we can see a true transformation in Bharat through robust implementation of the schemes that have been announced. The concern here is that while the problems of health and education have been recognised both in the Economic Survey and the budget speech, the actual allocations are not substantially higher and it will need hawk-like supervision to ensure that the lot of the farmer, the rural citizen and children are truly improved in 2018.
One realisation that found its way into the Finance Minister’s budget speech was that ‘combining cyber and physical systems have great potential to transform not only the innovation ecosystem but also our economies and the way we live.’ The announcement of a mission on cyber-physical systems to support establishment of centres of excellence and the proposed investment in research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, quantum communications, the Internet of things may seem like a large dose of alphabet soup but certainly holds the potential to transform ease of living for factory workers, farmers, microfinance employees and even education and skills providers and recipients in the years to come.
The biggest push that can happen through digital India and the introduction of thoughtful cyber-physical systems can be the rejuvenation of flagging initiatives like ‘Make in India’, ‘Startup India’ and the Smart Cities mission. In manufacturing, Industry 4.0 calls for massive performance improvement through judiciously planned and meticulously executed cyber-physical systems addressing four critical elements of customer-focused business process re-engineering, data gathering from all sources with advanced real-time analytics, deployment of technologies from the digital stack, including mixed reality, 3D Printing and IoT to fit the new process requirements and a relentless focus on culture transformation to prepare the employees and value chain partners for ever-changing expectations and new opportunities for maximizing value. The margin of error is narrowing with competitive pulls and technology pushes enabling every stated and implicit need of a stakeholder to be met well before it is articulated.
Cyber-physical systems can be the rejuvenation of initiatives like ‘Make in India’, ‘Startup India’and Smart Cities mission
Healthcare is also a major opportunity to use the national network of optical fibre cable that is envisaged to connect doctors and patients through telemedicine, store and disseminate electronic medical records countrywide. The ‘Modi Care’ ambitious plan does indeed propose a larger coverage than the UK’s National Health Service but it has to be accompanied by extensive deployment of technology for patient identification, diagnostics and post-treatment diagnostics combined with a balanced investment in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare centres if the money provided has to be put to optimal use. Similarly, the problems of education at all levels cannot be addressed without radical change in the commitment of educators which will not be accomplished by a simple change of blackboard to digital whiteboards in classrooms.
In this vast tsunami of ideas and less-than-optimal implementation that has plagued many of our schemes, here is a word of appreciation for Pune Municipal Commissioner Kunal Kumar and the teams in the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Pune Smart City who have been working assiduously to deliver the promises of a truly digital Pune. In a recent interview Commissioner Kunal has rightly pointed out that the city is capable of increasing its GDP by Rs.80,000 crores by digital infrastructure creation. The proposal to lay over 2,000 km of optical cable fibre will enable transformation of telecom infrastructure and data centres on the cloud. This, in turn, will enable the launch of next-generation government and smart city services, connected healthcare and education and a host of new entrepreneurial opportunities.
Pune has taken the lead in many areas and we as citizens of the city have a role to play in participating and contributing ideas and capital rather than just criticize from the sidelines. Our experience with Pune City Connect has been excellent. Multiple corporates have contributed crores of operating expense money for municipal schools’ transformation, digital literacy centres and buses and new generation skills lighthouses in every municipal ward of the PMC; individuals have volunteered their time and the PMC has more than played its role. It is this spirit of Public Private Partnerships where Government works with industry associations, corporates, civil society and individuals to make true change happen that will lead the way to the country of our dreams. Write in and tell us how you can play a role!
by Ganesh Natarajan
