A new draft of the Data Protection Bill is being worked on to augment efficient usage knowing it would be used by the industry: Additional Secretary, Meity

Speaking at the CII International Technology Summit 2022 “Technology 4.0 Adoption, Adaptation & Enterprise Transformation: The Next Big Leap”, Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), said that digital makeover across government, industries, and MSMEs is at varying levels of maturity; most MSMEs are way behind tech adoption, and the challenge to be addressed is reduced costs and scaling up through tech adoption – tech 4.0.

With World-class digital infra and digital penetration to even rural areas, the Cybersecurity threat is increasing with sophistication/severity as India is ranked at No. 10 on the Global Cyber Security Index; Dr. Kumar says, “The government has put in place the long-term vision and has a proactive approach to deal with emerging tech and subsequent threat levels. Modern set of cyber laws serve the needs, and the new draft is being worked on for Data Protection Bill to augment efficient usage of data with confidence that data would be protected while allowing that data may be used by the industry.”

Focusing on the importance of digital transformation and the caution required, Ms. Sharmistha Dasgupta, Deputy Director General (Scientist-G), National Informatics Centre, said, “There will always be use and misuse, which calls for the need for regulation. The data or information can be used for polarizing opinions, manipulation of public perception, spreading disinformation/hate speech, etc. However, tech enhancement is required to live smarter, productive, and enhance outcomes in a conducive environment.”

Saying that sustainability is a significant signpost of this industrial revolution fuelled by technological advancements, Vijay Rai, Chairman, CII Delhi Panel on Technology, said, “-Indian economy is predominantly agrarian, and farmer distress may be addressed by way of tech such as GPS, GIS, location, satellite data analysis. Also, the country can achieve better healthcare accessibility through digital connectivity; remote sensing, GIS, GPS, Sat communication can help in disaster management and risk mitigation.”

During the session on ‘Leveraging intelligent & smart automation as a catalyst for enterprise transformation: AI, Data Analytics, IoT, AR/VR and deep technologies’, Biswajit Bhattacharya, Partner & Automotive Industry Leader India, South Asia, IBM India Pvt Limited, said, “Organizations that adopt AI better have performed better financially across industries and sectors. A global leader in snacks implemented an AI supply chain solution to synthesize supply chain data along with COVID data and logistics data from the government to plan out business better and was able to mitigate losses. Areas of disconnect are untapped data, and the challenge to identify/extract value out of it; technology should have a purpose to address cultural shift, ecosystem complexities, and business processes.”

Sachin Agarwal, Head AI, Sony India, was of the view that it is impossible to replace human intelligence with AI, but it enhances decision making and fastens the processes.”

Talking about the tech utility in aviation, Vinod Bhat, Chief Information Officer, Vistara, said, “In Aviation, it helps in getting accurate data to provide personalized customer experience; hyper-personalization is enabled such as Seat/food/preferences, and class (economy/business) preferences. The fact is that unless AI meets business and regulatory requirements, tech does not serve its purpose.”

In the session, the discussions were held on AI and ML as a backbone for creating and delivering exceptional scale and value, Smart automation, and industry 4.0 applications that drive business value chain transformation and productivity gains, Data is oxygen: A innovative tool for business survival and a revenue growth engine, Leveraging AR/VR, industry IoT and associated digital technologies to elevate customer experience, and Adopt, adapt, and integrate technology 4.0: Challenges and opportunities.

Session on “Unleashing the power of 5G & smart digital networks: Ecosystems, infrastructure, devices, technologies, and services” was moderated by Monika Gupta, Vice President (Group 5G & Edge –Industry use cases & Partnerships), Capgemini.

Navnit Nakra, CEO, India Region, One Plus, talked about OEMs and ecosystem players’ role in India wrt 5G as India is leading the tech revolution not merely at the cusp of it, OEM perspective – future-ready tech – value add to end customer, investment in R&D and not merely manufacturing in India, and Collaboration with all stakeholders – public and private to embrace 5G.

Dr. Arnab Roy, Dr Arnab Roy, Head of Applied Research – Digital Health, Jio, was of the view that Healthcare is traditionally slow to adapt to 5G technology. For example, the diagnostic use of keyhole surgery took 15 yrs for the surgical community to accept it. “Challenges in adoption are man-machine bonding, at least address neuro-muscular connections; tactile aspect of medicine. Adoption will alleviate/relieve patients to provide them with a nuanced experience.