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The technology platform for providing "<keyword id="22918315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="frictionless-credit" source="keywords">frictionless credit</keyword>" launched by the <keyword id="19899810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reserve-Bank-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reserve Bank of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reserve Bank of India">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="RBI" source="keywords">RBI</keyword>) last year as a pilot project will soon be introduced nationwide soon, said Reserve Banks of India Governor, <keyword id="19913110" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shaktikanta-das" source="keywords">Shaktikanta Das</keyword> on Monday. This technology platform will be named "<keyword id="22918314" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unified-Lending-Interface" source="keywords">Unified Lending Interface</keyword> (ULI)", Das said while speaking in Bengaluru at the event of the Global Conference on Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies. Governor Das said "Just like <keyword id="19900911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UPI" source="keywords">UPI</keyword> transformed the payments ecosystem, we expect that ULI will play a similar role in transforming the lending space in India. The 'new trinity' of JAM-UPI-ULI will be a revolutionary step forward in India's <keyword id="20018890" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-infrastructure" source="keywords">digital infrastructure</keyword> journey." The ULI platform facilitates a seamless and consent-based flow of digital information, including even land records of various states, from multiple data service providers to lenders. The technology platform introduced last year as a pilot projects cuts down the time taken for credit appraisal, especially for small and rural borrowers. Das stated that the ULI architecture has common and standardised APIs, designed for a 'plug and play' approach to ensure digital access to information from diverse sources. "This reduces the complexity of multiple technical integrations. It enables borrowers to get the benefit of seamless delivery of credit, and quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation. By digitising access to customer's financial and non-financial data that otherwise resided in disparate silos, ULI is expected to cater to large unmet demand for credit across various sectors, particularly for agricultural and MSME borrowers," the RBI governor stated. Showing confidence in the newly launched ULI, Das said, "Just like UPI transformed the payments ecosystem, "we expect that ULI will play a similar role in transforming the lending space in India." Speaking about the success of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) Das said, "The current ecosystem of digital payments in India offers a bouquet of simple, safe, and secure options for instant or quick transfer of funds, both large and small value, for businesses and individuals." Das further stated stated that the apex bank is consistently trying to secure the financial system in the country. "We are constantly working on devising policies, approaches, systems and platforms that will make our financial sector stronger, nimble and customer-centric," Das said. Additionally, Das also highlighted that the central bank is constantly working on devising policies, systems, and platforms that will make the financial sector stronger, nimble and customer-centric. Das said that over the last decade, the traditional banking system has undergone an unprecedented technological transformation. By all indications, this process is likely to become even more intense in the coming years, he said. On the country's experience in DPI, he said, "DPI has enabled India to achieve in less than a decade levels of financial inclusion that would have otherwise taken several decades or even more" He also emphasised that UPI system has the potential to evolve into a cheaper and quicker alternative to available channels of cross-border remittances. The Governor also stressed that financial institutions should be abundantly mindful of associated risks of Artificial Intelligence.

After UPI, RBI set to launch Unified Lending Interface (ULI) for friction-less credit

A combination of policy changes such as <keyword id="6375770" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bankruptcy-law" source="Orion">bankruptcy law</keyword> and taxation code and the enabling environment created by the <keyword id="14972121" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-public-infrastructure" source="Orion">digital public infrastructure</keyword> has made India an attractive investment destination for the financial technology sector, a senior <keyword id="69007" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-economic-forum" source="Orion">World Economic Forum</keyword> (WEF) official said. In a video interview with PTI, Matthew Blake, Head of the Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems at the WEF said India has been one of the best-performing markets in the world and investors have made money here. Blake also struck a word of caution saying that since markets do not move in a purely linear fashion and were prone to "ups and downs", there was a need to educate investors. "So this idea of being an informed <keyword id="6368449" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="investor" source="Orion">investor</keyword>, a diversified <keyword id="6368449" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="investor" source="Orion">investor</keyword>, and having access to educational resources to do that is really fundamental artificial intelligence (AI)," he said. "I think a combination of different policy choices that have been made make India quite an attractive investment destination. In addition to the <keyword id="14972121" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-public-infrastructure" source="Orion">digital public infrastructure</keyword> that creates an enabling environment from a technological standpoint, you also have changes in the <keyword id="6375770" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bankruptcy-law" source="Orion">bankruptcy law</keyword> and taxation code adding clarity," he said. Blake said a survey of fintech CEOs by the WEF and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance had revealed that 70 per cent of the firms considered AI as a major force and could be deployed for personalisation and customisation of products and services. Blake said for sectoral regulators, AI could be helpful in the context of risk management and there was a need for them to adapt to the rapid changes in technology. "The sophistication level of the regulatory authorities will also need to increase commensurate with the business sector and talent. Technology, and technologically savvy talent, will be at a premium. And that's true in the private sector, and that's true in the public sector," he said. Blake said in the Asia-Pacific region, the regulatory agencies were generally viewed as being quite skillful. "When you look globally, obviously there are varying levels of sophistication of markets. This brings an opportunity globally to share best practices and competencies," he said. "One of the things that we're looking at is how do you bring the most sophisticated actors in the financial services space from the private sector together in a knowledge exchange with some of the key supervisory bodies," Blake said. "It is absolutely in the best interests of the business sector that their corresponding regulator understands as closely as they do their activities and the technologies they're using to conduct those activities. So, it is in the mutual best interest to share that information and to try and level set. That is a rather large challenge, but it's something that we as a team are looking at currently and trying to devote some time to," Blake said. The WEF-Cambridge report on 'The Future of Global Fintech: Towards Resilient and Inclusive Growth', released in January, found that the majority of financial technology companies hold a positive view of their regulatory environment, with 63 per cent rating it as adequate. Additionally, 38 per cent of surveyed fintechs cited the regulatory environment as a major supporting factor for their operations and growth.

DPI, bankruptcy law, tax code make India attractive investment destination: WEF official

<ul class="summary-list"><li>OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a Monday blog post, called for massive investments in AI infrastructure.</li><li>Insufficient infrastructure, Altman warned, will lead to wars being fought over the technology.</li></ul>In a Monday <a target="_blank" href="https://ia.samaltman.com/">blog post</a>, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that massive investment in AI infrastructure is key to market dominance — and avoiding global conflict."If we want to put AI into the hands of as many people as possible, we need to drive down the cost of compute and make it abundant (which requires lots of energy and chips)," Altman wrote. "If we don't build enough infrastructure, AI will be a very limited resource that wars get fought over, and that becomes mostly a tool for rich people."While promoting the development of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/america-ai-infrastructure-data-center-microsoft-blackrock-2024-9">AI infrastructure</a> is the new focus of industry leaders like Altman, researchers on the technology's social, environmental, and economic impacts told Business Insider that the development of the data centers and hardware systems needed to achieve artificial general intelligence or superintelligence will cost far more than money.Representatives for OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.<h2 id="71040451-7ee2-4474-ac54-2c383f024bc4">A sharp industry focus on AI infrastructure</h2>The new hot topic in artificial intelligence is infrastructure — investing in it, planning a massive expansion of computing power, and creating the data centers needed to develop the technology at scale.Last week, Microsoft and BlackRock <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://news.microsoft.com/2024/09/17/blackrock-global-infrastructure-partners-microsoft-and-mgx-launch-new-ai-partnership-to-invest-in-data-centers-and-supporting-power-infrastructure/">announced</a> the launch of a $30 billion fund to "enhance American competitiveness in AI while meeting the growing need for energy infrastructure to power economic growth."Earlier this month, the White House hosted a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/09/12/readout-of-white-house-roundtable-on-u-s-leadership-in-ai-infrastructure/">roundtable</a> with AI infrastructure leaders from around the country — including Altman and executives from Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Anthropic, among others — to "discuss steps to ensure the United States continues to lead the world in AI" and ensure the tech's development is aligned with "national security, economic, and environmental goals."While some experts are cautiously optimistic about AI, others pointed to pitfalls in the rapid build-up of infrastructure.<h2 id="0aa9a51a-d85a-46f5-bd85-fb71b3470c95">AI's unclear economic benefits</h2>Alex de Vries, an economist and the founder of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://digiconomist.net/">Digiconomist</a>, a platform dedicated to exposing the unintended consequences of digital trends, told Business Insider the current conversation on AI infrastructure is focused on the development of large-scale data centers, with industry insiders trying to convince national governments to greenlight expansion — despite unclear benefits."It costs a whole lot of resources, while data centers don't generate that many benefits for the local economy — not too many jobs, very little other business activity because no one has to be near a data center," de Vries said. "So for now, the trade-off is really bad."The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-return-investment-disappointing-goldman-sachs-report-2024-6">return on investment</a> in artificial intelligence is increasingly murky. With companies like OpenAI and others preparing to spend over $1 trillion on artificial intelligence in the coming years, a June Goldman Sachs <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gen-ai-too-much-spend-too-little-benefit.html">report</a> asked the question: "Are we spending too much for too little reward?"Proponents of the technology argue it could eventually help save lives by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chatbots-tech-doctors-medicine-healthcare-system-empathy-quality-email-2023-6">revolutionizing the healthcare industry</a> or, as the United Nations climate technology <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://unfccc.int/ttclear/artificial_intelligence">website</a> suggests, "scaling up transformative climate solutions for mitigation and adaptation action in developing countries." However, chatbots and image generators have been the most publicly celebrated advancements in AI from the major Big Tech players — and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hallucinate-cambridge-dictionary-word-of-the-year-artificial-intelligence-2023-11">errors created by AI-generated content</a> have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-generative-ai-cant-be-trusted-gary-marcus-openai-2024-8">well documented</a>.In recent earnings calls, executives from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-365-potential-price-changes-ai-investment-roi-2024-6">Microsoft</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-amazon-alphabet-spend-big-ai-investors-concerned-roi-2024-8">Alphabet</a> have repeatedly fended off investors' questions about when to expect a return on their AI expenditures.Shaolei Ren, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Riverside, told Business Insider that, despite Altman's prediction in his blog post that we could be "a few thousand days" from an AI superintelligence, he's not optimistic that we're as close as Altman says we are — and he argued OpenAI's reliance on large language models is not the right path to get there.Rather than a single model that can do it all, Ren said he believes the industry needs to focus on smaller, more specialized models that require fewer resources and can be built to handle more precise tasks."I think we need to shift the way we build AI, not just rely on bigger and bigger models," Ren said. "This is not really sustainable or scalable."<h2 id="53158441-3f88-40ef-a72f-35691ba29f3a">An environmental disaster in the making</h2>Both de Vries and Ren said that beyond the financial costs, ensuring AI infrastructure is developed at the scale industry players like Altman seek comes with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-generative-ai-environment-climate-change-global-emissions-2023-9">massive environmental costs</a>."If you're talking about large-scale data centers, they are going to be consuming a huge amount of power and a huge amount of water," de Vries said.He noted that data centers consume tons of water for their cooling systems — some of which evaporates, so it cannot be reused. Electricity consumption also skyrockets, driving up demand and increasing reliance on fossil fuels despite the industry's use of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-the-6-billion-market-for-renewable-energy-certificates-2020-3">renewable energy certificates (RECs)</a>.Wind and solar companies generate RECs for each unit of energy they create and then sell them. Buyers of RECs can then say they source renewable energy, even if they're using power from nonrenewable sources."The environmental consequences of a big surge in power demand are typically very, very bad — way, way worse than is being acknowledged by the Big Tech companies," de Vries said.<h2 id="733c12a0-a965-422f-be12-05faf7693bb2">A growing risk to the social order</h2>That's not to mention what Cary Coglianese, a professor of law and political science and the director of an interdisciplinary program focused on research on effective regulation at the University of Pennsylvania, describes as AI's impact on "social ordering."While Coglianese describes himself as "cautiously optimistic" about the benefits of artificial intelligence, he said even if we achieve advanced uses for the tech, the feat will come with "trade-offs.""Any human endeavor that involves an optimization challenge can be made more efficient through artificial intelligence," Coglianese said. "Some of those uses can be good, like finding malignancies on MRI scans — a great use of AI technology — but we'll also be making much more efficient weapon systems, or automating weapon systems, or creating tools that can oppress people that can be made more, quote-unquote, 'efficient.'"In his blog post, Altman writes that the dawn of what he calls the Intelligence Age comes "with very complex and extremely high-stakes challenges.""It will not be an entirely positive story," Altman wrote. "But the upside is so tremendous that we owe it to ourselves, and the future, to figure out how to navigate the risks in front of us."Altman didn't mention the current negative social impacts AI is already causing — such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-deepfakes-threaten-havoc-with-the-worlds-year-of-elections-2024-1">deepfakes infiltrating our political system,</a> a proliferation of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cgi-ai-fake-video-audio-news-hoaxes-information-warfare-revenge-porn-2017-8">AI-generated revenge porn</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dell-layoffs-ai-strategy-workers-more-effective-jobs-fulfilling-2024-8">workers being replaced</a> as companies increasingly invest in the tech."There's a real disconnect between where the world is today socially and where it is technologically — and that's something that the technologists and the techno-optimists can often overlook," Coglianese told Business Insider. "I'm cautiously optimistic too, but we have to recognize that until we have a social ordering that's different than it is, a new technology won't be some magic elixir that will transform the globe into a utopia."

Sam Altman believes wars will be fought over AI unless there's massive spending on infrastructure. But that comes with a cost.

New Delhi, Advocating DPI's potential in helping nations leapfrog digital transformation, a <keyword id="42981" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="G20" source="Orion">G20</keyword> document prepared by <keyword id="6354424" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-bank" source="Orion">World Bank</keyword> has praised India's approach in unlocking the power of digital public infrastructure, including Aadhaar and UPI, for financial inclusion. The impact of DPI goes beyond inclusive finance, to supporting health, education, and sustainability, says the foreward of the document 'G20 policy recommendations for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains through DPI'. "The India stack exemplifies this approach, combining digital ID, interoperable payments, a digital credentials ledger, and account aggregation. In just six years, it has achieved a remarkable 80 per cent financial inclusion rate-a feat that would have taken nearly five decades without a DPI approach," it said. India's digital ID system Aadhaar, digital payment system UPI, data-exchange platform Digilocker and its other showcase platforms have found a special mention among the examples of DPIs "all of which play a leading role in the advancement of financial inclusion in many countries". Other systems mentioned were Singapore's Singpass, the Philippines' PhilSys, and the UAE's UAE-Pass among the digital ID systems; Brazil's Pix, India's UPI, Turkiye's FAST, the European Union's TIPS, and Thailand's PromptPay under fast payment systems; as well as Estonia's X-Road, Singapore's MyInfo, Australia's Customer Data Right, and the UK's Open Banking. Put simply, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to blocks or platforms such as digital identification, payment infrastructure and data exchange solutions that help countries deliver essential services to their people, empowering citizens and improving lives by enabling digital inclusion. DPIs are interoperable, open, and inclusive systems supported by technology and provide essential, society-wide, public and private services that play a critical role in accelerating this digital transformation in an inclusive manner. The document also cites India's Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and India's Account Aggregator (AA) Framework. On Fast Payment Systems, it noted that in some countries, such as India and Brazil the adoption has been "particularly quick and transformative". UPI, it said, has been widely adopted, benefitting from a user-friendly interface, open banking features, and private sector participation. "The UPI platform has gained significant popularity in India; more than 9.41 billion transactions valuing about Rs 14.89 trillion were transacted in May 2023 alone. For the fiscal year 2022-23, the total value of UPI transaction was nearly 50 per cent of India's nominal GDP," the report said. The document goes on to say that an aspect that makes DPIs unique, and that can further reduce existing constraints, is their ability to complement each other or be integrated in end-to-end workflows. One such service enabled by the interaction of open APIs and digital ID systems is the e-KYC or remote authentication services. A case in point is India's Aadhaar biometric identification system, which covers over one billion people and supports APIs, enables remote identification and authentication, it observes. Financial service providers can thus authenticate an individual's identity remotely, even by using selfie-based mechanisms to substitute for in-person customer due diligence verification requirements, it said. India has also figured prominently in the section on 'DPIs' Potential Added Value for the Private Sector', that cites how FSPs and MSMEs could benefit from these digital networks. "For some nonbank financial companies (NBFCs) in India, the AA ecosystem enabled an 8 per cent higher conversion rate in SME lending, a 65 per cent savings in depreciation costs, and a 66 per cent reduction in costs related to fraud detection. According to industry estimates, banks' costs of onboarding customers in India decreased from USD 23 to USD 0.1 with the use of DPI," it said. Through open application programming interface (APIs), India's Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) enables MSMEs participating in digital markets to secure credit by using information about their business history, rather than pledging physical assets as collateral. According to the document, in India, the implementation of various DPIs is considered to have played a critical role in the increase in account ownership from just one-fourth of adults in 2008 to almost 80 per cent a decade later "a journey that it is estimated would have taken up to 47 years without DPIs".

World Bank praises India's digital infrastructure for its transformative potential

New Delhi: <keyword id="19904868" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ecom-Express" source="keywords">Ecom Express</keyword> Ltd has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sebi" source="keywords">Sebi</keyword> to garner Rs 2,600 crore through an initial share-sale. The company's <keyword id="19913114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="initial-public-offering" source="keywords">initial public offering</keyword> (<keyword id="19898327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPO" source="keywords">IPO</keyword>) comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,284.50 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of shares valued Rs 1,315.50 crore by promoters and other shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). Proceeds from the fresh capital to the tune of Rs 387.44 crore will be used for setting up new processing centres with automation and new fulfilment centres, Rs 73.71 crore for computers and IT equipment, Rs 239.23 crore for enhancing technology, data science capabilities, and cloud infrastructure, and Rs 87.92 crore for payment of debt. Also, the remaining funds will be used for general corporate purposes and potential acquisitions, according to the draft papers filed on Wednesday. The company may consider raising Rs 257 crore through a pre-IPO placement. If such placement is undertaken, the amount raised will be deducted from the total fresh issue size. Ecom Express operates a pan-India express logistics network that handles first-mile pick-up, mid-mile transportation, last-mile delivery, returns, and warehousing services. By offering essential logistics infrastructure and using technology, the company connect digital retailers and <keyword id="19990771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="keywords">e-commerce</keyword> platforms with consumers across the country. According to RedSeer report, the <keyword id="22803827" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-e-commerce-market" source="keywords">Indian e-commerce market</keyword> is projected to grow significantly, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 per cent over the next five years. It is expected to increase from Rs 5.1 lakh crore in 2024 to Rs 12.5-13.5 lakh crore by 2029. Growth is notably strong in Tier 2+ regions, which are expected to account for 70-80 per cent of B2C e-commerce shipments by 2029, up from 62 per cent in 2024, the report added. Axis Capital Ltd, IIFL Securities Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd and UBS Securities India Private Ltd are the book running lead managers to the company's public issue.

Ecom Express files papers with Sebi for Rs 2,600-crore IPO

<keyword id="19955368" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="budget-2024" source="keywords">Budget 2024</keyword>, which is set to be presented on July 22nd, is set to accelerate the growth of <keyword id="20459350" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-stock-markets" source="keywords">Indian stock markets</keyword> by as much as 20%, a recent survey by <keyword id="19897999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bloomberg" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bloomberg" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Bloomberg">Bloomberg</keyword> noted. While some respondents hope that the <keyword id="20983733" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSE-Nifty50" source="keywords">NSE Nifty50</keyword>, which is currently trading at 24,273.35 points, might reach 26,000 points by the end of this year, others estimate the index to inch up even higher. The budget is likely to boost consumer spending, accelerate consumption, and support infrastructure development, noted half of the 24 experts Bloomberg surveyed. Data by Bloomberg Intelligence predicted that the estimated earnings per share (EPS) of companies on the MSCI India Index is set to rise by 15.6% on year basis, for the calendar year 2024. In contrast, Chinese firms are expected to grow at about 10%. One-fourth of surveyed analysts noted that pushing capital expenditure would be the government's top priority, while the other half thought the focus would be on boosting consumer demand. Naturally, analysts see potential growth in consumer discretionary stocks in the months to come, followed by financial services. <h2>Focus on Women, Capex</h2>Many are expecting the government to raise the standard deduction threshold from the current Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000. The government is also thinking of raising the limits of the <keyword id="19930663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Public-Provident-Fund" source="keywords">Public Provident Fund</keyword> (PPF) from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. As per Ashwajit Singh, Founder and Managing Director of IPE Global, "the budget is expected to be tilted towards adopting a strategy for the underprivileged, youth, farmers, and women. The budget is expected to reflect the government’s tried and tested formula of ‘guarantees’ by opting for income transfer policies and spending more on welfare schemes in government campaigns in India. Allocations for existing schemes such as 'Housing for All’, MGNREGA, and health insurance for these sections of society are likely to increase while new schemes may be introduced". According to Badal Yagnik, CEO of Colliers India, the real estate segment is optimistic regarding this budget: "Housing, infrastructure development, sustainability, and digitization will remain at the core of the budget, which will go a long way in supporting real estate growth across segments in the long term. EV infrastructure, renewable energy, and green financing will continue to remain in focus, creating a strong base for a sustainable future. Incentivization of green buildings through minimum alternate tax or tax breaks similar to the infrastructure sector will be particularly beneficial. Meanwhile, retail investors are calling for additional rationalizing of the capital gains tax structure. The Union Budget 2024–25 should explore initiatives to boost greater retail engagement in REITs and InvITs". Anooshka Soham Bathwal, founder of Dhanvesttor, a financial management platform, expects that the government's focus is likely to keep driving the increased participation of women in the workforce in the upcoming full budget, where it can attain the same by incentivising higher education for women. "To promote entrepreneurship, the government can introduce special benefits for the businesses started by women. Further steps towards a stable policy environment and ease of doing business are also desirable. Incentives on tax, funding, and growth for women-centric organizations can help to further attain the inclusive growth objective of government". Bathwal also emphasized that the budget should promote entrepreneurs and the country's startup system. "Entrepreneurs are advocating for additional tax breaks for investors and promoters to attract more domestic capital. As India progresses towards becoming a global hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, fostering both technological and process innovations is crucial. Significant improvements in ongoing training and skill upgrades are vital, particularly given the rapid growth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. Additionally, the government needs to address the credit challenges faced by SMEs", she continued Also read <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/budget-2024-heres-what-indias-elderlies-want/articleshow/111486023.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Budget 2024: FM might delight India's senior citizens this time around</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/union-budget-2024-25-when-will-it-be-presented-what-to-expect-and-more/articleshow/111014203.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Union budget 2024-25 : When will it be presented, what to expect and more</a>

Budget 2024 to fuel stock markets: Bloomberg Survey

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tom Greiner, Accenture's lead for health and public-service tech, helps clients improve their IT.</li><li>Greiner opened up about the evolution of cloud technology and generative AI in the public sector.</li></ul>Tom Greiner joined <a target="_blank" href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en">Accenture</a>, an international <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-business-execs-trending-insights-ai-worker-well-being-roundtable-2024-9">leader in information-technology services and consulting</a>, in 1988 as a director of technology in the company's federal-services division. He spent 34 years in that role, which allowed him to work with a wide variety of public-sector clients.He has hands-on experience managing complex projects like US-VISIT, a system deployed by the Department of Homeland Security to handle biometric-data collection at border crossings.In 2022, Greiner became the senior managing director of Accenture's division for health and public-service technology. Using his experience with implementing technologies for US federal services, he helps clients in the commercial public sector and health employ complex information technology, including cloud tools and generative artificial intelligence.Greiner spoke with Business Insider about digital transformations in the public sector and how they might evolve.The following has been edited for clarity and length.Let's talk about cloud technology. Can you explain what hybrid cloud means and its significance in the public sector?Many of our clients still reside in their on-premise data center, or they use a private cloud, which is somebody else's data center but not located that far away.However, we've seen more clients start to embrace the cloud. COVID was an accelerator for that. Dollars and cents is also a driver. There's a need to treat the taxpayer dollar respectfully. Using the cloud for things like backup and recovery or storing system and security logs is much cheaper.As more clients have built digital-facing capabilities to interact with citizens, they've seen that that build is typically done in some sort of cloud variant. Many of them, aside from federal, are focused on a single cloud provider.But in federal, we see many multicloud and hybrid-cloud environments. They'll have data sitting in a data center. They also have some in a thoughtful hybrid-cloud environment, leveraging the cloud for certain tasks but not everything.A few agencies are 100% cloud. They're even dabbling with polycloud, meaning one workload is hitting multiple clouds within the workload. Generative AI is also an accelerator there. We're seeing clients dabble in different foundation models that sit in different clouds.What concerns do stakeholders typically raise when implementing the cloud in the public sector?In Europe, there's a data-sovereignty concern. Where's the data? Where are the people who are touching the data? Where are the people who have access to the data center?In the United States, and in state and local organizations, clients want to know not only if the cloud is secure but also how a cloud service will secure their workload.Clients are asking for a managed SOCKS service and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/how-businesses-should-respond-to-ransomware-attacks-2021-3">active threat hunting</a>. Depending on the nature of the data, we've had clients ask for what we call moving-target defense. We can set up a cloud environment, and it will run for four or six hours. Then, we shut it down and set it up somewhere else. If an adversary gets into the environment, their ability to understand it is more limited.How does government regulation impact the public sector's use of the cloud differently from the private sector?There's still confusion in Europe because countries have their own opinions on what the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, should mean, and there's not a uniform point of view on what is right to meet the specifications.Each country is coming up with their own interpretation, and sometimes they're looking to the first mover for guidance. So if Germany went first, another country will look at that and decide, yes, that's good enough or no, we want more.Getting back to the United States, I think a helpful move was the establishment of a minimum set of federal security requirements through the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It's a commonly understood standard that commercial entities look toward.I think the last couple of federal administrations have wound down their emphasis on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework">NIST Cybersecurity Framework</a> as something they need to keep current, and that was a surprise. The implication is that security, like beauty, is left open to the eye of the beholder, and individual variances are increasing friction and cost in the market a bit.A lot of industries would be a fan of the administration again stamping the NIST Cybersecurity Framework as the go-to for being good enough to do business with the US federal government.What's the current demand for AI, particularly generative AI, in the public sector?For AI in general, I'd say it's high and has been for a number of years. With generative AI, I think there's both optimism and caution. 2023 was a year of small experiments and exploration. In 2024, we needed to think about it institutionally.We've worked with states and localities on setting up Centers of Excellence to understand different models, provide coaching on responsible AI, and exchange best practices and reusable capabilities across agencies.Cloud went through a similar process, and I think lessons were learned that are now applied to generative AI. Cloud started as a bit of a free-for-all, and then common infrastructures and security capabilities came later. With generative AI, organizations are trying to solve citizens' problems but also to start with direction on how to do it in a fair and equitable way.Can you provide examples of how generative AI is deployed in the public sector?We completed a program with the District of Columbia Department of Health that created a chatbot for citizens and staff to ask questions about services and program qualifications. That was our first implementation of Amazon Web Services' Bedrock using <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retrieval-augmented-generation-making-ai-language-models-better-2024-5">a retrieval-augmented-generation solution</a>.We uploaded their documents and website information into a closed model to guide citizens' questions. RAG is common now, and in the last three months, we've added knowledge graphs for better contextualization and correlation of documents.Generally, I'm still seeing one-off use cases. It's about experimentation, and not about an organization-wide fundamental change. The public sector doesn't have the competitive pressure that commercial does to reinvent, as it's sort of a monopolistic entity by design.However, budgets are tight. If public-sector organizations can free up staff from mundane activities, that's important. It's big in public health, for example, where there's a nursing shortage across the globe. Helping someone coming in for a surgery to ask all the questions they would want to ask in a conversational sort of way could probably off-load 80% of the patient prep and free up a nurse for other tasks.Are general attitudes toward generative AI receptive or cautious in the public sector?I'm seeing that people are encouraged. That's because agencies are picking off use cases where they're confident they can deliver immediate value and build positive momentum. They're going for quick, easy wins, the parts of the job that people hate to do.It works best in organizations with a responsible AI framework in place or that are working with providers that bring that as part of what they do. However, it's still the Wild West, so many organizations can do what they want, and use whoever they want, and get whatever results they're going to get. I suspect we'll see a mixed bag.Still, I think there'll be enough success that AI will continue to permeate and cross-pollinate across states and localities.

A tech leader at Accenture shares how AI and cloud tools in the public sector can evolve with regulation: 'It's still the Wild West'

<ul><li>The tech giant states that its <keyword id="14253410" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oci-dedicated-region" source="Orion">OCI Dedicated Region</keyword> enables enterprises to gain the full functionality of <keyword id="43340" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="oracle" source="Orion">Oracle</keyword>’s public cloud in the locations of their choice, including their own data centers. </li><li>Our aim is to provide a plug-and-play public cloud experience, on a pay-as-you-use model that allows customers to innovate faster, reduce time-to-market and stay agile, says <keyword id="14461425" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="srikanth-doranadula" source="Orion">Srikanth Doranadula</keyword>, VP- Hybrid <keyword id="3349700" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="cloud-systems" source="Orion">Cloud Systems</keyword>, <keyword id="197019" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oracle-india" source="Orion">Oracle India</keyword>.</li></ul> End-user spending on public cloud services in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> is expected to reach $7.3 billion this year, according to <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-11-03-india-public-cloud-spending-forecast-2022">Gartner</a>, notching an impressive 30 percent growth over last year. Cloud adoption, including hybrid and multi-cloud models, has been expanding fast among all kinds of companies globally. The pandemic further strengthened the case for cloud adoption with a large majority of <a href="https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/state-of-cloud-native-security">organizations moving quickly to cloud</a> to respond to the crisis. Agility, elasticity and digital transformation imperatives are just some of the many reasons why businesses move to cloud. For many regulated industries and public sector companies, the story has been slightly different. Stringent compliance requirements, data sovereignty demands, latency concerns and a host of unique requirements has meant that these organizations take a measured approach to cloud – specifically to public cloud. “Regulated industries such as banking have moved an increasing number of periphery applications and workloads to the public cloud, but the core systems still remain on <keyword id="6482004" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="premises" source="Orion">premises</keyword>. And it’s going to remain so as they want complete control over their critical data due to reasons varying from data security to data sovereignty to latency,” says Srikanth Doranadula, Vice President, Hybrid Cloud Systems, Oracle India. While regulated industries have migrated several of their non-core systems of engagement (<keyword id="113749" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="soe" source="Orion">SOE</keyword>) to the public cloud, their systems of record (SORs) remain on-premise, in their own data centers, according to Doranadula. Nevertheless, Oracle sees a unique market opportunity here – to bring the experience of public cloud to these organisations’ on-premise data centers, and provide them with the benefits of a public cloud while placing it behind their firewall for better security and control. The company’s recent announcement around <keyword id="8111927" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oracle-cloud-infrastructure" source="Orion">Oracle Cloud Infrastructure</keyword> (OCI) Dedicated Region underpins this strategy. With OCI Dedicated Region, claims the company, enterprise customers can gain the full functionality of Oracle’s public cloud in the locations of their choice, including their own data centers. “Imagine if a bank that relies largely on its on-premise data center were to launch a major blockchain initiative. It would require them to deploy and provision specialised hardware and software in their dedicated data centers, leading to a significant amount of investment, effort and resources,” Doranadula said. “Our aim is to provide a plug-and-play public cloud experience, on a pay-as-you-use model that allows customers to innovate faster, reduce time-to-market and stay agile while leveraging the power of cloud elasticity.” By 2024, 60 percent<a href="https://www.idc.com/research/viewtoc.jsp?containerId=US47241821"> of organisations</a> are predicted to implement dedicated cloud services either on premises or in a service provider facility in response to performance, security, and compliance requirements. Many organisations are therefore taking a <a href="https://resources.flexera.com/web/pdf/Flexera-State-of-the-Cloud-Report-2022.pdf?elqTrackId=f3bb660986704d2980404386aa003141&amp;elqaid=6925&amp;elqat=2">hybrid multi-cloud</a> approach. This is one trend that Oracle believes will impact organisations’ cloud consumption strategies in the coming days. Doranadula reiterated that the hybrid cloud model was here to stay and would be a larger part of the market. And this is not true of regulated industries alone. Several organisations in unregulated industries – telecom companies, conglomerates, systems integrators etc. – with unique computing needs are opting for hybrid models, he said. These shifting models are parallelly driving up the need for distributed cloud computing in the industry, especially with the advent of 5G and edge computing. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, for example, offers distributed cloud options with hybrid cloud services and multi-cloud capabilities across 38 public cloud regions worldwide. “We believe that distributed cloud is the next evolution of cloud computing, and it provides customers with much more flexibility and control in how they deploy cloud resources. The emerging hybrid and distributed cloud models such as ours removes cloud adoption barriers like data sovereignty, data residency, or latency for enterprises,” said Doranadula.

Interview: How Oracle plans to bring the public cloud to companies’ on-premise data centers

The shift from cable platforms to streaming is widely evident. And this shift is not just a passing trend but a transformation that is likely to last. With consumer preferences evolving, it's crucial for businesses to keep themselves updated with the latest technologies, and crucially innovate. These were the insights shared by <keyword id="19108136" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Srinivasan-KA" source="Orion">Srinivasan KA</keyword>, Chief Revenue Officer and co-founder of <keyword id="19108137" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="amagi-corporation" source="Orion">Amagi Corporation</keyword>. He engaged in a discussion with <keyword id="19108138" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mark-aldrich" source="Orion">Mark Aldrich</keyword>, General Manager of the Media Entertainment Segment at AWS, in the SaaS Scions web series hosted by Business Insider <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> and <keyword id="8632828" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aws-india" source="Orion">AWS India</keyword>. The conversation revolved around the significance of cloud technology, the ongoing transformation within the industry, and the evolving demand within the streaming space. India has earned the moniker of being a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) powerhouse, and rightly so. Over the last few years, India has given rise to 15-17 SaaS unicorns. <keyword id="45963" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="srinivasan" source="Orion">Srinivasan</keyword> highlights that this success enables Indian companies to engage in global competition like never before. Unlike the past, significant capital, extensive local operations, or established relationships are not critical to penetrate the SaaS domain. Now, the essentials are talent and a keen comprehension of addressing global customers' challenges in distinctive ways. This, Srinivasan noted, was the key to thriving in the SaaS landscape. Discussing the tech evolution over the decade and the deep integration of cloud tech at Amagi, Srinivasan noted that this shift has immensely benefited their operations. Back in the late 2000s, he adds, the first line of code written at Amagi was on the AWS Cloud. Their ability to swiftly experiment and adapt, even if some endeavours didn't succeed, has been pivotal for their success. This agility, he mentioned, is the result of aligning with the cloud's advancement trajectory. He further stated, "Our journey has paralleled the cloud's progression, with substantial contributions coming from AWS, driving a significant portion of cloud-based innovations." Talking into streaming, Srinivasan underlined the presence and prospective growth of ad-supported models. He pointed out that numerous sizable publicly traded enterprises exhibit a significantly higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for their ad-supported tiers compared to pure subscription tiers. Highlighting the financial benefits, he stated, "These blended models undeniably deliver superior Return on Investment (ROI) for content proprietors." Additionally, he anticipated a significant shift towards content no longer being bound by exclusivity, marking a substantial change in the streaming landscape. Delving into the multitude of collaborations within the streaming domain, Srinivasan noted that this pattern is set to expand due to a heightened focus on cost-effectiveness. Network and content collaborators are increasingly integrating their broadcasting and digital streaming activities into a unified tech framework. This strategic shift aims to streamline operations and eliminate the perception of these businesses as separate entities, thereby fostering a cohesive approach to their management. Srinivasan emphasized the significance of partnerships as a means to establish a comprehensive platform – an all-encompassing end-to-end solution that caters seamlessly to customers' needs. Examining the current priorities of content creators and owners, Srinivasan highlighted a dual transformation. At the forefront, consumers are transitioning from linear platforms to streaming services and from subscription-based models to advertising-driven ones. Simultaneously, the backend is undergoing transformation for streamlined scaling on the streaming front, cost-effectiveness, and the shift from conventional hardware to cloud infrastructure. The advent of cloud computing presents a shift in focus from obtaining customer data to optimizing its utilization to provide tailored solutions and enhanced experiences to consumers. Srinivasan observed that businesses expand their content to global markets with minimal localization and now tap in to enhanced monetization opportunities. To address this challenge, Srinivasan noted their proactive engagement with clients. Their approach involves presenting diverse monetization models. In addition to strategic business consultations, Amagi is offering technology guidance to underscore the implications on the technology architecture. The landscape of media and technology is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the shift from traditional models to streaming. The insights shared by Srinivasan KA during his discussion with Mark Aldrich highlight the necessity for businesses to stay abreast of evolving consumer preferences and embrace cutting-edge technologies to remain competitive. India's emergence as a SaaS powerhouse with a significant number of unicorns illustrates the global potential of Indian companies, underpinned by talent and problem-solving prowess. The integration of cloud technology, as exemplified by Amagi's journey, underscores the role of adaptability and agility in navigating the evolving digital landscape. Furthermore, Srinivasan's observations regarding ad-supported models, collaborations, and the transition to cloud infrastructure highlight the industry's dynamic nature. The strategic interplay of technology, partnerships, and data optimization is shaping the way forward for media, content creation, and streaming services. And adding another feather to India’s SaaS-innovation cap. Disclaimer: This article is generated and published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on insiderstudios@businessinsider.in

Driving Value Through Unification of Digital Space & Operations- Srinivasan KA

<ul class="summary-list"><li>DWAC shares slumped as much as 11% Monday after Reuters reported two execs at Trump's <keyword id="13543884" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="truth-social-app" source="Orion">Truth Social app</keyword> have left. </li><li>DWAC is the SPAC taking Trump's media and technology company public. </li></ul>Shares of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/dwac-stock">Digital World Acquisition Corp</a>. slumped as much as 11% Monday following <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-two-key-tech-execs-quit-truth-social-after-troubled-app-launch-2022-04-04/">a Reuters report</a> that two executives overseeing the buildup of <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword>'s Truth Social social media startup have left. Josh Adams and Billy Boozer, who served as Truth Social's chief technology officer and chief product developer, respectively, have left their posts after less than a year, two unnamed sources familiar with the venture told Reuters. <keyword id="12360024" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="digital-world-acquisition-corp-" source="Orion">Digital World Acquisition Corp.</keyword>, the special purpose acquisition taking the Trump Media &amp; Technology Group public, dropped as much as 14% before the opening bell to $54.15, the lowest price since January 10. The shares later pared the decline to 11%. The conservative social-media platform launched in February."If Josh has left… all bets are off," one source told Reuters, calling Adams the "brains" behind Truth Social's technology.Another source said Boozer had been running management across technology infrastructure, design and development teams. Reuters said it couldn't determine the specific circumstances behind the executives' resignations, whether they have been replaced or their duties reassigned, or if Adams and Boozer are working on the venture in different capacities. News of the resignations follows a sharp slide in DWAC shares in recent sessions. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/digital-world-spac-dwac-donald-trump-truth-social-app-downloads-2022-4">Bloomberg last week reported</a> that daily downloads of Trump's Truth Social app have tumbled by as much as 95% in recent weeks, with that reporting citing data from Apptopia. It is not yet available on Android devices, and its inclusion there could bring in millions of downloads.

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