Innovation with a purpose

By Arjun Malhotra In recent years, we have witnessed a rapid switch towards digitisation and greater innovation in all sectors. India now proudly stands as a beacon in digital public infrastructure (DPI), with nations looking to emulate our advancements in creating seamless, paperless, and cashless protocols. This fusion of physical and digital, or 'phygital' infrastructure, coupled with our vast demographics and growing demand, is expected to give India a 5-6% growth rate at a time when the global economy is pegged at around 3-4%. ALSO READ A liquidity mismatch for CAS As the world's most populous nation, India must move beyond being the back office of global economies. The path to becoming a high-income nation lies in indigenisation, sustainable innovation and creating high-value jobs through products that are designed and made in India. This will require a shift in mindset – from assembling products developed elsewhere to building capabilities across the entire value chain, including design, engineering, manufacturing and after-sales support. It's important that our products are localised, with little or no reliance on foreign components. At every step of the journey, we also need to innovate. In the 1970s, for example, when we had no UPS systems and were plagued by frequent power cuts, at HCL we designed power shutoff auto restart (PSAR) systems, to enable seamless workflows. To tweak our products to address our unique challenges, we need to deepen our R&D and think more about hardware innovations. This is important because we need to make products tailored to our needs, meeting specific functionality and safety requirements, and price points. Innovation should not be limited to adding more features; it should focus on solving problems that are specific to Indian conditions, whether they relate to affordability, infrastructure constraints, climate or ease of use. Our products must also be easily repairable to minimise environmental impact and foster inclusive growth. By designing Make in India, low-cost products, we will be able to address the mismatch in digital accessibility. The India consumer electronics market size was valued at $73.73 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% from 2023 to 2030. Therefore, India needs to rapidly transform into a manufacturing hub for new-generation electronics products with minimal dependence on foreign components. Designing and manufacturing in India will also safeguard us from external threats, such as covert spyware embedded within electronic hardware. Hidden vulnerabilities in cheap foreign products may lead to cyber-attacks, jeopardising our government institutions, banking systems, defence systems, energy sectors, and even our space programmes. Hardware vulnerabilities pose even greater risks than software. Thus, the local is also safe. Think of the huge data that can be generated by digitising records of ASHA workers, who are ensuring last-mile healthcare delivery. There is one ASHA worker for every 1000-2500 population. Digital accessibility of ASHA workers, with cheap quality tablets, for instance, will significantly transform healthcare delivery. ALSO READ Inside Track by Coomi Kapoor: Outsiders unwelcome Similarly, there is a huge ground we can cover in education and employment by ensuring our products are not expensive. Make in India products thus fire all cylinders in one go – development, inclusivity, growth, and safety. The writer is co-founder, HCL and chairperson EPIC Foundation Disclaimer: The views expressed are the author's own and do not reflect the official policy or position of Financial Express.