An unstoppable rise, a dizzying advance in data-carrying capacity, a decrease in latency and over 40 years of a journey – that is how a revolutionary milestone from 1G to 5G in the telecommunication sector has been achieved. Every ten years since 1979, each newer generation has experienced a changed way of communication as it evolved exponentially. From becoming truly “mobile” with analogue technology in the late 80s to live streaming videos with 4G technology, the abbreviated “G” has shown us the unending potential of Data capacity in the faster world.

And as Union Electronics & IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made the country’s first-ever 5G call at IIT Madras, India made a historic technological breakthrough in the telecom sector. The successful testing of this 5G call on an indigenously-developed network was done at the 5G Test Bed set up at the IIT Madras campus, which was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated on 17th May, marking an important step toward self-reliance in futuristic and modern technology in the telecom sector. A state-of-art, global best-in-class advanced Indigenous 5G Solution comprises gNB (a radio base station that connects 5G New Radio (NR) devices to the 5G core network) and Core Network. The 5G Test Bed is also equipped with CPE, a latest nBIoT ASIC chip, Advanced Use cases (IoT, Smart Meter, V2X), and Advanced Technology ( Lifi as a last-mile high-speed delivery mechanism, Multi-RAT Solution). Further, the Hardware and Software developed in the project are available to entities that would like to make commercial use of the IPs through flexible licensing models as per the policies of the concerned Institutes.

Notably, the Test Bed is available to research institutions, academia, government bodies and industry for various R&D, product development, and capacity development activities. The facility will be available at 5 different locations in the country.

Speaking at the TRAI’s silver jubilee event, PM Narendra Modi had said that estimates show that the 5G network rollout will add USD 450 billion to the Indian economy. Highlighting the role of the telecom sector in the progress of the country, he had also said that by the end of this decade, the country will be able to launch 6G services of its own. The prospects seem to be strong too given the pace at which studies and collaborative efforts are bringing the change. However, with research and technological finesse, that is being harnessed from accomplished technical institutes like IIT, India also needs foresightedness and congealed management strategies, in order to realise its growth endeavours. True advancement lies not only in ideological and technological fundamentals, but also in the form in which they are furthered, an addition that can be best experimented through solid planning, managerial and result-oriented approach. Top management institutes and think-tanks can play a massive role in carving out successful itenerary for such projects.

As the country celebrated Bharat Drone Mahotsav in the national Capital, a foundation has been laid for an emerging ecosystem of the drone market in India.

The post-Covid Indian scenario had gotten a hang of online delivery mechanism so well that two years down the line, getting things to the doorstep has become a part of businesses. As this idea settles down to mix well with the current logistical landscape across the country, many startups and tech-firms have already begun thinking of ways to use technology and evolve it to take delivery and mapping to another level. This is where Drones become tools of interest and future-shaping. India has acknowledged this well as recent years have seen many reforms inclined towards popularising drones – from liberalising the drone policy, to issuing SOP for using drones to spray pesticides in agricultural, forest lands and non-cropped areas, to permitting FPO’s to receive a grant of up to 75% of the cost of an agriculture drone, to introducing drone-powered solutions and government initiatives like the Svamitva scheme (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas).

Union Finance Minister had announced during the Budget 2022 that the Centre will promote ‘Kisan Drones’ to help farmers assess crops, digitise land records as well as spray insecticides and nutrients. She had also affirmed that drone development is one of the four priorities of the government moving forward. Earlier in February when Prime Minister Modi flagged off 100 Kisan drones in different parts of the country, he celebrated the occasion with a remark that ‘this is the best example of how far the country can fly if policies are drafted with the right spirit.’ The agriculture sector of India especially is rapidly moving towards modernisation with the incubation of Kisan Drones. Drones for agriculture is a concept that talks about a new edge revolution intended to boost the income of farmers, ensure capacity building in the areas of production, supply and more.

The Kisan Drone Suvidha could add a new chapter in the direction of modern agricultural facilities of the 21st century. With Subsidies, farmers’ drone demonstrations, drone pilot courses, and agricultural institutions, the government needs to cultivate a drone ecosystem for the ease of farmers. Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs), Rural entrepreneurs, and Agri startups are going to occupy the central stage to establish a flourishing Kisan Drone set up for farmers. By banning the imports of drones, the government is securing a way for Indian manufacturers to fill the gap of demand and supply of Drones that may arise in the near future. Subsequently, startups like ‘Garuda’ ‘Aerspace’ are leading the space with target of manufacturing 1 lakh Made-in-India drones in the next 2 years. In addition to doubling farmers’ income, and improving the Agri sector, the motive behind Kisan Drones is to promote chemical-free national farming. Sustainable farming practices are the future of Climate Action-packed initiatives of the governments around the world. Kisan Drones will help farmers avoid wastage of water and also assisting them with collecting, recording and monitoring environmental data, paving the way for smart farming practices.

However, it is not enough to just project, implementation is also very important. There are various challenges associated with implementing Kisan Drones in the rural areas, educating framers for the same is most important of all. The reality is that drone handling could be complex and reading data from the same even more so; flight time and range, battery life, land-holding, physical obstruction, connectivity interruptions, certified usage of chemicals and nutrients, etc need to be researched well to provide specialised training.

As India celebrates ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the ‘Made in India’ Kisan drones will leverage country’s goal of “Aatama Nirbhar Krishi” that will not only benefit farms but also encourage Entrepreneurship.

The sky over Delhi was lit up with 1,000 drones, when a spectacular event put up by ‘made-in-India’ drones highlighted this year’s ‘Beating Retreat’ ceremony in January 2022. Notably, the 1,000 drone show set India on the world stage, precisely in the top four after the U.K, China, and Russia. This was followed by by the speech of Budget 2022, wherein Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Centre will promote ‘Kisan Drones‘ to help farmers assess crops, digitise land records as well as spray insecticides and nutrients.

As the government now adds PLI Scheme benefits to manufacturing of drone and drone components, the growth that now awaits this sector would be rapid and exponential. The list of beneficiaries by MoCA includes five drone manufacturers and nine drone component manufacturers. The scheme would provide a total incentive of INR 120 crore over three financial years, which is approximately double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21. What is worth highlighting is the fact that the PLI rate here is 20% of the value-added, which is among the highest rates among PLI schemes. Manufacturers who fail to satisfy the value addition criteria in 2021-22 will also be able to recover the lost incentive in the following year if they make up the shortfall in 2022-23, which is a unique element of the drone PLI scheme. Apart from the PLI Scheme, the government of India has implemented various reforms with an aim to make India a worldwide drone hub by 2030. This includes publication of the Drone Airspace Map 2021 which opened nearly 90% of Indian airspace as a green zone up to 400 feet, The UAS Traffic Management (UTM) policy framework 2021, The Drone Certification Scheme 2022 to make it easier for drone manufacturers to obtain a type certificate and introduction of the Drone (Amendment) Rules, 2022.

The global commercial drone market size was valued at USD 13.44 billion in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57.5% from 2021 to 2028. In such a time, the ban that the central government imposed on importing drones (The Drone Import Policy 2022) has turned out to be a powerful step in making India self-reliant, as it has hugely encouraged domestic manufacturers. As per the estimates by Civil Aviation Ministry, India’s drone sector is expected to achieve a total turnover of Rs. 120-150 billion (US$ 1.63-2.04 billion) by 2026, from its current turnover of about Rs. 800 million (US$ 10.88 million). In addition, the government plans to attract investments of Rs. 5,000 crore (US$ 669.07 million) in the next three years in the drone manufacturing industry and create over 10,000 job opportunities.

Drones have found quite a good space in the Indian landscapes. In August 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation liberalised the drone use policy. This was followed by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare issuing the SOP for using drones to spray pesticides in agricultural, forest lands and non-cropped areas. This was soon followed by India becoming the first-ever country to commercially produce and spray Nano Liquid Urea through Drone in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar. A drone subsidy proposal was also included later in the drone policy. It is through this clause that FPO’s can now receive a grant of up to 75% of the cost of an agriculture drone. Innovative drone-powered solutions and government initiatives like the Svamitva scheme (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas), which is surveying inhabited Indian rural lands using drone technology are already taking advantage of these measures.

NITI Aayog released the Battery Swapping Policy to bring greater efficiency in the EV Ecosystem. The idea was indicated in the Budget 2022 where considering the constraint of space in urban areas for setting up charging stations at scale, central government had promised to roll out a battery swapping policy and formulation of inter-operability standards to come up the sector’s efficiency. The move will also encourage the private sector to develop sustainable and innovative business models for ‘Battery or Energy as a Service’. Under the plan, Data Centres and Energy Storage Systems including dense charging infrastructure and grid-scale battery systems will be included in the harmonized list of infrastructure. This will facilitate credit availability for digital infrastructure and clean energy storage.

Earlier, July 2019 had witnessed a whopping Tax boost for EVs as the central government slashed down the GST rate on electric vehicles (EVs) from 12% to 5%. In the same year, the government also mandated green license plates for battery-operated vehicles. In its efforts to further promote use of EVs, centre also issued notifications to state govts to exempt permit and minimise road tax for EVs in 2021. This was followed by another unprecedented development where a PLI scheme was approved for manufacturing of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC), a move to reduce the prices of batteries in the country, and ultimately bringing down total cost of production of Electric Vehicles. The scheme worth Rs 26,000 crore was announced to boost the production of electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel vehicles in the country and it was estimated that the scheme will create as many as 7.5 lakh jobs for the auto sector. The collective efforts of all the stakeholders have resulted in a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles in the country. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the number of electric vehicles registered in 2018 in the country as per the e-Vahan portal was 1,31,554. The number rose to 1,61,314 in 2019. Cumulatively, as of July 2021, there were a total of 5,17,322 registered electric vehicles in the country.

Besides, India is also all ready to work on solutions and provide the world with innovative initiatives & vital alternatives. Earlier, India had joined hands with Israel’s start-up company Phinergy to set up a factory in India to manufacture aluminium-air batteries for electric vehicles and stationary applications. Lithium-ion batteries are in widespread use for electric vehicles and various gadgets globally. Finding and switching to an alternative becomes imperative because unlike Aluminium, lithium’s availability is scaringly finite on Earth. In the case of e-vehicles, aluminium-air batteries are also expected to offer a much greater range of 400 km or more per battery compared to lithium-ion batteries which currently offer a range of 150-200 kilometres per full charge. However, use of Aluminium batteries would also require the setting up of battery swapping stations as these cannot be recharged like lithium-ion batteries. The new battery swapping policy rolled out by the centre may provide solution for this problem as well.

Electronic Vehicles (EVs) are being endorsed as the future of transportation sector as the near total reliance on fossil fuels for automobiles is wringing a huge cost out of the environment. To decarbonize the transport sector, a major contributor of CO2 emissions), transition to clean mobility has become essential, which the government has already started to ensure through more and more endorsement and induction of Electric Vehicles. Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have also expanded by two-and-a-half times across nine megacities, in the last four-five months only. Each of these 9 major cities have a population of over 4 million. As many as 1.8 lakh electric vehicles were sold in the country during this period.

Quantum computing is one fast emerging technology with the potential to change the way humans live on this planet. Delving into high-end technologies like AI, deep learning, IoT, DevOps, NLP and cloud computing may be the need of the hour, but it is quantum computing that has the kind of sophistication and potential to rule the current technologies and the way they are going to work. Quantum computing is going to be the platform on which majority of the technologies may be working in near future. Considering the urgency, technology superpowers like Google, Microsoft, IBM and others are in the pursuit of exploring things on this line, and even Government agencies are also encouraging committing support to the startups for relevant research.

The Indian government has already set up the ground for collaborations and developments. The QSim by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is one such opportunity. The Indian government announced Rs 8,000 crore for quantum computing in Union Budget 2020. The telecom industry has opened a myriad of opportunities for quantum computing through the quantum lab of the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering in MP. Medicine sector is also in research for the quantum algorithm to support it to give more intricate details like size, pattern, shape, and alignment to the researchers to come up with new drugs to deal with a situation created by Covid pandemic and others.

Quantum mechanics like any physical theory is based on experiments. While a large section of the scientific community is invested in building devices towards quantum computing applications, a separate community is invested in precision tests of fundamental aspects of quantum theory itself. A group of scientists from the Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, in a collaborative research have used quantum computers to perform some precision tests of the fundamental aspects of the quantum theory. These are known as Sorkin and Peres tests, the two vital tests to calculate the chances of happening of an event and determination of potential to behave as waves, respectively. As quantum computers are scalable quantum systems, these fundamental experiments could provide a universal programmable setup for developing a quantum circuit, which could be a Rosetta stone that allows translation of experiments from one physical system to another.

Summing up these experiments, RRI’s Professor Urbasi Sinha says that, “Our method provides a nice way to create well defined benchmarks for quantum computers so that we know exactly how error prone they are, by using the very foundations of quantum theory as the benchmarking tool.” India at the helm of such fundamental work of cutting edge Quantum Computing bodes well for New India.

“Indian judicial system is 200 years behind compared to developed countries”, says Justice Krishna Iyer in his book ‘Law, Lawyers and Justice’. Time has come to put despair aside and take these kind of remarks as seeking opportunities to improve processes adjudication of plethora of pending and upcoming cases. For timely and fair mannered justice delivery, these processes need to be efficient, effective, and equitable.

It is timely to acknowledge the need of directly adopting tech solutions for empowering Indian judicial system as it requires fast processing and delivery mechanisms. AI, machine learning, natural language processing, digital sharing and record-keeping, etc. are some of the solutions that are already being explored and examined. “To explore the use of AI in judicial domain, the Supreme Court of India has constituted Artificial Intelligence Committee which has mainly identified application of AI technology in Translation of judicial documents; Legal research assistance and Process automation,” Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stated recently in Parliament conveying about implementation of phase two of the eCourts projects of the government.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one technology that has gained a lot of relevance in last couple of years with the government of India trying to incorporate it even in the day-to-day functioning of the three pillars of Indian Democracy. However small the percentage may be, making the procedures and functioning public is another bold attempt that will rightly help in taking masses in confidence and building a parallel bridge to digital connectivity and setup of an overall advanced working judicial system.

Another stepping stone towards this new-age judicial ecosystem was set with the launch of the AI-driven research portal SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency) last year. The portal deals with large chunks of case data through machine-learning. However, SUPACE does not participate in decision-making as its AI mechanisms are focused on collection and analysis of data. “We are not going to let AI spill over to decision-making… It fully retains the autonomy and the discretion of the judge in deciding the case, though at a much, much faster pace because of the readiness with which the information is made available by the AI,” former CJI SA Bobde had said while launching the portal.

Apart from tech solutions, efforts are also being invested in enabling greater digital connectivity and better focus on easy and secured usage of electronic data and record-keeping. Ensuring the same, CJI N.V. Ramana has launched ‘Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records’ or FASTER, a digital platform that will assist court officials to instantly send e-copies of the orders through a secured electronic communication channel to intended parties. This was followed by the launch of a new divyang-friendly website by the department of justice, providing all citizens with a one-stop platform for all digital initiatives of the Justice Department. This will allow public to view High Courts judgements and orders, view case status, settle traffic violations, and even view Live streaming of court proceedings of High Courts of Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna and MP. The website will also keep other important information for public about eCourts Mission Mode Project, appointment of Judges, fast-track special Courts, Nyaya Bandhu, Gram Nyayalaya, DISHA scheme, Tele Law, etc.

Amidst ongoing debates on right manner to address judicial inefficiencies by extending working hours, reducing public holidays, setting up more courts, appointing more judges, filling up the vacancies etc, Technology adoption is surely looking like the winner. Further, changes in laws and social structure are easier to incorporate in these tech solutions.

In 1951, the world was introduced to a game-changing technology by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver, when they invented Barcode, the thin and thick black bars that are like limbs to each and every product worldwide even today. For seven decades, Barcodes have ruled the production world as it allowed it to track products and inventory like a piece of cake. The inception of QR scanning is so revolutionary that if recognised critically, it is even ready to replace the present system, along with opening doors to a completely scan-based lifestyle & businesses.

 

Today QR scanning is widely used globally for making payments, as evident even in rural India, for restaurant menus, for tracking and storing details of various product, companies, stakeholders and clients, in media like hyperlinks, in bookings of flights, shows, trains etc., in hirings, computing, record-keeping, buying, selling, directing, sharing and what not. In 2019, over 73% of India’s total web traffic had come from mobile phones. Internet penetration rate in India went up to nearly around 45% in 2021. This rate of Internet literacy in the country and access to smartphones have led to the massive adoption of QR Codes. Hence, from product packaging to billboards, to walls of buildings, one can find various types of QR Codes almost everywhere.

 

Ever since the launch of UPI, India has experienced a paradigm shift in Digital payments. People relied on it for fund transfers (especially post-demonetization), leading to a significant rise in QR code adoption by merchants, customers and others. A July 2020 report of an RBI committee on ‘The analysis of QR Code’ said, “Over 20+ million UPI QRs deployed in the market (July 2020). The volume of digital payments using UPI QR are approximately over 250 million on a monthly basis.” The committee even suggested that the Government should allow a lower controlled interchange instead of zero MDR on QR code & even offer tax incentives to merchants to let QR code transactions flourish even more in the country.  Covid-19 has fueled the future in digital payment, especially in Asia. According to McKinsey, there has been an 80/20 rise in digital payments. This indicates that the digital user base has seen a 20% increase, 80% of which has been registered during the peak of Covid-19.

 

Apart from payments, these dotted codes are helping brands globally to elevate their position in the market. They are being used widely for imbibing products and events information, for availing offers, channeling traffic on social media, and even app downloads. Almost all of the Fortune 500 companies have already added QR Codes to their marketing stack since the last few years. With its unique feature to work through its print on a physical paper, it is also becoming a tool of mass awareness and learning too.

 

Digital tools are largely governing the operationalisation of the modern world, especially metropolitan and urban settlements. The second decade of the 21st century has beautifully led the world to kickstart its transition into a digital era, letting people across the globe to accept technological assistance, first in profession, then in governance, then personalization and now even in core household operations. One such digital tool is QR (quick response) Code, which is as powerful as the digital technology itself.

 

One of the three key goals identified by the government during the budget 2022 is promoting digital economy & fintech, technology enabled development, energy transition, and climate action. To protect the interests of future generations and prepare them for upcoming global challenges, achieving these tech and sustainability goals is vital. The novel concept of Digital University is to provide world-class quality universal education with personalised learning experience at each Indian’s doorsteps. This collaborative University will be built on a networked hub-spoke model and content will be available in different Indian languages and ICT formats.

 

On education, training and skilling front, there are plans to develop quality e-content by the teachers as well as content in all spoken languages for delivery via internet, mobile phones, TV and radio through ‘Digital Teachers’. A DESH-Stack e- portal for on-line training and search facilities for jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities is to be launched.

In Agri and Allied domain, the focus is on preparing farmers for digital and hi-tech services, where a scheme in PPP mode as well as NABARD led co-investment model fund is to be launched for engaging all stakeholders meaningfully. For tech enabled operations management like crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides, and nutrients, discussions around ‘Kisan Drones’ is a very important step. With the Beating Retreat 1000 drone show and now with Kisan Drones, the government has shown willingness to put aside apprehensions of this evolving technology and embrace it to leap forward in large scale aerial survey and delivery. Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS) is being envisaged across multiple sectors.

To build on key learnings of COVID pandemic handling, an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem, consisting of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework, and universal access to health facilities is to be rolled out. Further, as the pandemic has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages, to better the access to quality mental health counselling and care services, a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ is to be launched. This will include a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technology support.

To reduce damaging effects of red tape by enhancing transparency and to reduce delays in payments, a completely paperless, end-to-end online e-Bill System is to be launched for use by all central ministries for procurements. Digitally signed bills can be submitted and tracked in this system online.

To continue the bolstering of digital payments in the country, financial support for the digital payment ecosystem announced in the previous Budget will continue in 2022-23. Further, 75 districts are going to get Digital Banking Units (DBUs) by Scheduled Commercial Banks for enhancing and promoting digital Banking experience. As talks have been on to introduce Digital Rupee, using blockchain and other technologies, this has now been confirmed to be issued by RBI starting 2022-23. This will lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system in the country. The newly proposed flat tax rate of 30% on virtual digital assets is a step towards acknowledging them and bringing the discussions mainstream.

These budgetary provisions are going to fuel the discussion and development of systems, processes and capabilities for combining humans and machines in the workplace. As 5IR is set to put an individual at the front and centre of the production process, it is imperative that India prepares its young to reap demographic dividends.