'Budget 2012 should give thrust to innovation, technology adoption'

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Rajiv Bhalla | 24 Feb, 2012
NEC India, a Japanese IT & Networking solutions company, looks forward to a more holistic approach towards budget 2012. Not to miss, we expect it to be progressive in terms of giving thrust to innovation and lay greater emphasis on adoption of technology in varied sectors. In today’s scenario, there is increasing deployment of IT in the growing fields of education, retail, healthcare and public safety & security. As in FY 2011, we hope to see further momentum in these sectors.

Among the most important steps undertaken by the government last year, the Union ministry had sought to develop seven cities around the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) with a total investment of about USD 90 billion within a decade. We anticipate that this pilot project to develop these ‘smart cities’ will enable the overall development of the country and ensure safe and secure infrastructure with an eco-friendly environment for the citizens. This project has opened doors for technology solution providers in the biometric security and surveillance domain for sustainable delivery.

According to the TechNavio's report, Biometrics Market in India 2010-2014, the biometrics market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 42.4 percent over the period 2010-2014. This trend is expected to grow with more and more government projects being undertaken hence we hope that this will be a major focus area in the Union budget 2012-2013.

When we are talking about growth in CAGR, a vital subject such as green infrastructure cannot be ignored. Sustainable development and adoption of green business practices has become the cornerstone of any debate on environment. With India's economy recording a steady growth rate, it has become even more important for sustainability to feature prominently in the country's development plans. India has managed a good growth rate with various initiatives to combat climate change. There is no difference between development and environment.

Conservation is not just about restraint but progressing in a sustainable manner. Towards this, we see a larger role being played out by corporates and government on energy savings and environment responsive implementation of technology. We are hopeful of government’s increased influence in the upcoming budget.

While we talk of sustainability and growth, one factor to impact the economy very strongly is proliferation and raising the standard of education in the country. With the emergence of increasingly robust connectivity infrastructure and cheaper computers, school systems around the world are developing the ability to provide learning opportunities to students “anytime, anywhere”.

This trend requires a rethinking of the traditional 40 minute lesson. In addition to hardware and Internet access, it requires the availability of virtual mentors or teachers, and/or opportunities for peer to peer and self-paced, deeper learning.

A few more things that we perceive will change the face of education in India would be cloud computing, ubiquitous learning, one-to-one learning to name a few. The trend in classrooms is to provide an information appliance to every learner and create learning environments that assumes universal access to technology. Whether the hardware involved a laptop, interactive devised such as a projector, a net computer, smart phone, or the re-emergence of the tablet, classrooms should prepare for the universal availability of personal learning devices. We hope to see a great role of the government in bringing about this transformation. With government funded initiatives such as Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan, the IT sector will get a chance to implement technology services to ensure highest levels of delivery.

Apart from the education sector, this year, we also foresee amplified influx of technology in the Indian retail sector. The organized retail sector has recognized that IT can give it an edge over the neighborhood kirana store. The IT innovation revolution in retail is steadily taking shape in India. The process is such that it has the potential to change the way in which we purchase even the basic necessities such as groceries and vegetables. Innovation is happening not just at the backend, but also at the customer facing end. This essentially covers the whole process of buying of products, right from selecting to decision making and paying at the checkout counter. With retail going the restructuring way, we hope that the future of the Indian retail industry is of major impetus during the upcoming Union budget.

Another very important subject that needs the government’s attention in the upcoming Union budget is towards advanced healthcare facilities for the people. A recent healthcare study (A 2010 study by Ikon Marketing Consultant) indicates, the Indian healthcare spending itself is about USD 30 bn and is expected to go up to USD 80 bn in the next 10 years. By 2020, the Indian healthcare industry is estimated to be worth USD 275.6 bn.

As per the research, Government's long term vision of making quality health care affordable, at least 50 per cent of country's population should be covered by health insurance by 2020. Taking cue from this revelation, we expect the process to be expedited largely with the help of technology. Hence, an increased budgetary allocation will enable healthcare companies to invest in IT and improve upon their service efficiency.

* Rajiv Bhalla, Associate Vice President & Country Head, Sales & Marketing, NEC India.
* The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of SME Times.