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Information and Communication Technology (<keyword id="70733" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICT">ICT</keyword>), which is helping India wiping out poverty, advancing financing and protecting environment, is coming up as a key player in bridging the digital as well as gender gaps which are persisting in the country. 
 At the <keyword id="2897031" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Summit-on-Information-Society">World Summit on Information Society</keyword> (<keyword id="2897032" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="WSIS">WSIS</keyword>), <keyword id="376834" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Asoke-Mukerji">Asoke Mukerji</keyword>, Indian’s Permanent Representative to the <keyword id="6355833" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-nations">United Nations</keyword>, talked about the role of ICT by citing its efforts in helping the nation flourish. 
 
Elaborating on the crucial role that ICT played in solving financing and environmental issues, Mukerji said, "The role of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the context of eradication of poverty, development, financing and protecting the environment, cannot be ignored.” 
 
As per an Economic Times report, Mukerji urged the international community to focus on bridging both the digital and gender gaps. He also asked the ICT to play its "true role as enablers of accelerated development." 
 
Alluding to the importance of the event, he said, the event is taking place at a "critical moment" as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are being upgraded and significantly expanding into the post-2015 Development Agenda. He also said that India looks forward to adopting a review this December. 
 
Image: thinkstock

Here is how global leaders will bridge the digital-gender gap in India

<ul><li>India slipped ten places in the <keyword id="2040615" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-Competitiveness-Index">Global Competitiveness Index</keyword>, ranking at 68.</li><li>The country’s ICT technology innovation capacity is growing but isn’t backed by investment in human capital.</li><li>India’s overall score is relatively stable but countries ranked near India demonstrated more growth.</li></ul>Getting more people online has been the goal of the current Indian government since its rise to power. Fall in the price of 3G and 4G data has also made it more affordable for people to connect to the internet. Despite these strides, India fell 10 places in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf">Global Competitiveness Index</a>, ranking at 68. India’s slip in the rankings is only partially because of the fall in its score — a drop of 0.7 points. The report notes that a greater factor may have been because other countries — which were previously ranked lower on the Global Competitiveness Index — have shown faster improvement, especially when it comes to the adoption of information and technology. India has improved significantly since 2017, but information and communication technology (ICT) continues to remain a challenge due to underlying factors like women participation in the workforce and weak workers’ policies. India and other emerging economies are also showing signs of stagnation and slowdown since their growth has largely been ‘anaemic’ — or unequal. India’s mixed results More ICT means more innovation, according to the WEF. In order to deal with the growth of their innovation capacity, emerging economies — like China, India and Brazil — need to strengthen their skills and labour market. Technological integration is good on paper. But, without human capital investment, it remains largely inadequate. India performed well in terms of innovation, ranking 35th in the world. But, it falls short when it comes to other foundational enablers of competitiveness on the Global Competitiveness Index. The one thing that does work in India’s favour is its market size. Even its financial sector ranks better than most other countries despite the high delinquency rate — that’s not to say that the banking system has not weakened. On the other hand, India ranks as low as 107th when it comes to skills, and is at 101th in terms of product market efficiency. The country’s labour market needs transformation in order to protect its workers and also encourage female participation in the world place — which is abysmally low at a rank of 128 — according to the WEF. This is also reflected the level of inequality in India. Income share of the top 10% in the country is higher than levels seen in the US, China and even Russia. India’s progress was good — Others were better The East Asia and Pacific region is the most competitive in the world. Countries like Singapore, Japan and Taiwan lead the charge on the rest of the world. In fact, Singapore holds the highest rank on the Global Competitive Index. But India lags woefully behind, according to the WEF. Countries ranked near India all show small, but significant improvements in their score. Vietnam, for instance, is ranked 67 and moved up 10 places in the index showing 3.5 points of improvement. Azerbaijan made an even greater jump of 11 places even though its competitive score only increased by 2.7 points to rank at 58. Turkey was able to maintain its rank at 61 but only because its performance improved by 0.5 points. One of the reasons for its improved competitiveness is the diffusion of the Internet across the country. Turkey’s also has more women participating in the workforce and has strengthened workers’ rights. Colombia, 57th on the Global Competitive Index, moved up three places brushing up its score by 1.1 points. India vs BRICS Among the BRICS nations, China is the best performer, maintaining its 28th position and outranking the Russian Federation at 43. That’s 40 places and 14 points ahead of India on the Global Competitive Index. China’s performance is almost at par with OECD standards. In fact, its ICT adoption outperforms all 25 of the OECD countries. South Africa, also moved up 7 places in the Global Competitive Index with a score improvement of 1.7 points ranking at 60. The only BRICS nation to rank lower than India is Brazil at 71. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-is-as-prepared-as-us-or-australia-to-welcome-the-5g-era/articleshow/71499916.cms" style="">India is as prepared as US or Australia to welcome the 5G era</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/digital-india-mckinsey-report-analysis-of-indias-digital-economy/articleshow/68686474.cms" style="">India is digitising fast but the pace is leaving many behind</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-schools-to-get-digital-boards/articleshow/68099142.cms" style="">From blackboards to digital boards: India infuses ₹90 billion to modernise classrooms</a>

India falls 10 places in Global Competitive Index as others race ahead in technology

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) For over 65 per cent of organisations in India, the primary drivers for using Artificial intelligence (AI) are improved productivity and faster time to market with new products and services, International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Thursday. Organisations across multiple verticals have been leveraging AI, driven by their own needs, but all of them are considering intelligent systems to either reduce effort on mundane tasks or establish specialized real-time insights for faster decision making, IDC said in a report titled "If You Think Artificial Intelligence Is Not for You, You May Just Want to Reconsider". This adoption has been varied across industries but has remained steady. Healthcare institutions and hospitals are deploying AI for clinical imaging and point-of-care applications. The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical is exploring multiple use cases, varying from chatbots and conversational AI platforms to fraud detection in claims and insurance. As other sectors explore AI, the public sector is almost initiating a similar arc of adoption, IDC said. "AI is not new. Over the years, it has progressed with organisations in India now exploring numerous use cases to realise its potential. Organisations are leveraging AI to enhance efficiency, improve productivity, and drive newer sources of revenue," Rishu Sharma, Principal Analyst, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence, IDC India, said in a statement. "Hence, it is interesting to witness how these use cases vary from predominant verticals to the emerging ones," Sharma said. The report, which talks about the reasons for organisations in India to consider AI and the hurdles they are facing in the market, leverages the data from IDC's conversations with the end-customers along with IDC's Cognitive AI Adoption Survey, 2019, that involved talking to over 100 leaders in India. "Traditionally, AI has been on the wish list of organisations and had not moved to the mainstream in terms of IT investments," said Sharath Srinivasamurthy, Research Director, Enterprise Solutions &amp; ICT Practices, IDC India. "However, with increasing examples of real-life use cases being effectively handled by AI, organizations are looking at increasing their investments on AI to drive business outcomes," Srinivasamurthy said. --IANS gb/kr

Most Indian organisations want AI for improved productivity

Is India on the threshold of becoming the world’s most digitized economy? 
 
Yes, if we go by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Narendra+Modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Prime Minister Narendra </a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Narendra+Modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Modi</a>’s speech at the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=vibrant+gujarat&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit</a> at Gandhinagar on Tuesday. 
 “Believe me, we are on a threshold of becoming the world’s most <keyword id="3472648" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="digitised-economy">digitised economy</keyword>,” said PM Modi as he explained his vision to bring a paradigm shift in his government’s policies and economy using technology. 
 
There is no doubt that post November 8, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=demonetisation&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">demonetisation</a> has forced more Indians to use technology to accomplish their financial transactions. 
 
But in a country of over 1.25 billion people, will that be enough to make it the most <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=digitisation&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">digitized economy</a>? If yes, how long will it take? 
 
The World Economic Forum’s Network Readiness Index that ranks countries on their performance in the digital world, released in July 2016, placed India at the 91st position out of 140 countries worldwide. This was a slip of 2 positions from the previous year with the drop being attributed in part to the fact that other countries are moving ahead at higher speeds. 
 
 
 
Singapore took the top position followed by Finland, Sweden, Norway and United States. 
 
Interestingly, the report also revealed that among the major emerging markets, India is ranked the lowest. The best among emerging markets is Russia at 41st rank, followed by China at 59th, South Africa at 65th and Brazil at the 72nd position. 
 
The report points out that despite improvements in its political and regulatory environment (78th, up four) and business and innovation environment (110th, up five), lack of infrastructure (114th) and low levels of skills among the population (101st) remain the key bottlenecks to widespread ICT adoption, especially in terms of individual usage (120th). 
 
Calling mobile broadband a privilege of the few, with only 5.5 subscriptions for every 100 people, the study shows that only 15 out of 100 households have access to the Internet in India. 
 While the report lauded ‘<keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword>’ for aiming to bridge this gap, it also said that India’s performance in terms of providing online services and allowing e-participation is far from the global best though in line with peer countries. 
 
Also on the key parameter of government usage of digital policies and the number of government services they provide online, India has shown a small decline in its score from 4.55 in 2013 to 4.1 in 2016, with 1 being the lowest and 7 being the best. 
 
The Indian government under Narendra Modi has also made substantial noise on being digitally savvy. But it features nowhere among the ten most tech-savvy governments. 
 
There are other studies also that reveal India’s inadequate infrastructure – a major roadblock to large scale digitisation. The ICT Development Index (IDI) that helps to monitor and compare developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ranked India at 138 out of 175 countries, a fall of 3 positions from 2015. 
 
 
Even here, among the emerging economies, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and China are ranked within the top 100 countries, making it clear that India has a long way to go. 
 
So in light of how we rank globally, how long can this ‘threshold’ be for becoming the world’s most digitized economy. Maybe PM Modi has borrowed the phrase from the world’s richest man Bill Gates. 
 Gates was in India in the second week of November, much after <keyword id="3315394" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="demonetisation">demonetisation</keyword> was announced. Calling ‘demonetisation’ a bold move, the founder of Microsoft and the world’s best known evangelist for using technology to better human life said that “India has great potential to become the most digitized economy globally in mere seven years.” 
 
Gates did not clarify on how he arrived at the seven-year target, neither has Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified what he meant by ‘threshold’. 
 
Going by the challenges ahead of India, it is safe to assume we still have considerable ground to cover before becoming the most digitized economy of the world. 
 
(This article is authored by Jency Jacob. The article was first published in <a href="http://www.boomlive.in/modi-reproduce-bill-gates-statement-india-becoming-worlds-digitised-economy/">www.boomlive.in</a>)

India to soon become the world’s most digitised economy, says Modi: A FactCheck

New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) As a result of the spread of the pandemic, 64 per cent of the organisations in India are expected to increase demand for cloud computing while 56 per cent for cloud software to support the new normal, a new IDC report said on Tuesday. The need to work remotely is bolstering the demand for SaaS-based collaborative apps, to ensure on and off-site presence at all the times and zero-disruption to business. This will also increase the need for remote support services  both human professional services and of the cloud software  especially security/identity. "As industries move away from infrastructure of ownership, pay-per-use models are likely to see an accelerated demand. Public cloud services will be among the few technologies that are positively impacted by the COVID-19," said Rishu Sharma, Principal Analyst, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence, IDC India. The India cloud market is going to witness a visible impact in the probable and pessimistic scenario in terms of heightened adoption with public cloud leading the forefront of all infra-related investments, according to IDC's 'COVID-19 Impact on IT spending Survey May 2020'. According to it, virtual private networks (VPNs), collaboration suites, end-point encryption, and cloud tools will witness an uptake. "Industries like media, education, and IT/ITeS are likely to see an increased uptick primarily because of online entertainment, virtual classrooms, and increased need for collaboration as a result of increased remote working," the findings showed. "We expect an accelerated adoption of cloud, as organizations explore testing of many new initiatives natively on cloud," Sharma added. The report covered the change in cloud budgets and the technology demands to ensure business continuity. According to Sharath Srinivasamurthy, Research Director, Enterprise Solutions &amp; ICT Practices, IDC India, while the impact of COVID-19 will be clearer in the coming quarters, Cloud has been a saviour during the crisis. "Cloud-based VDI and collaboration tools helped enterprises to stay in touch with their employees, clients, and partners. Cloud-based solutions continued to run and enable seamless business operations during the crisis and this has increased the confidence of enterprises in embracing cloud," explained Srinivasamurthy. --IANS na/

Covid-19 to push 64% Indian firms adopt cloud computing: IDC

6G will require 100 per cent fiberisation of towers and given that the current state of fiberisation of towers stands at 38 per cent, the country will have to develop an expedited plan to meet the above targets, a new report showed on Friday. India should continue investing in research and development activities to contribute to the advancement of <keyword id="6319489" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="6g-technology" source="Orion">6G technology</keyword> - to strengthen the global knowledge base and help shape the future of this technology, according to the report by KPMG in India, in association with India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2023. India should continue playing an active role in establishing global standards for 6G technology by leveraging its manufacturing capabilities to produce and export <keyword id="19290619" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="6g-equipment" source="Orion">6G equipment</keyword> to other countries, the report added. "India's forward-looking 6G vision document has positioned its digital prowess on the global technology forefront," said Yezdi Nagporewalla, CEO, KPMG in India. Furthermore, India's population dividend and technological progress give it a tremendous advantage and can help the country achieve its goal of becoming a dependable global digital leader with cooperative action on <keyword id="6372493" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-literacy" source="Orion">digital literacy</keyword>, <keyword id="6361948" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cybersecurity" source="Orion">cybersecurity</keyword>, new technologies, and export promotion, Nagporewalla added. India is focusing on development and adoption of cutting-edge technologies across 5G/6G, Satellite Communication (SatCom), and semiconductors. KPMG estimates these three technologies to collectively add approximately $240 billion to the nation's economy in the next five years and estimates it to contribute an additional 1.6 per cent to the national GDP by FY2028. Recognising the potential in the semiconductor space, the government is working aggressively to enable India to be at the centre stage of the global semiconductor supply chain and is offering some of the most attractive incentives globally. In total, India is offering $30 billion in support for semiconductors and related industries. "The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector's robust growth trajectory indicates, major industry players looking to address the needs of this customer base have also found the opportunity to be global suppliers, supported by the government's thrust on conducive policy and enabling infrastructure," said P Ramakrishna, CEO, India Mobile Congress.

India will need 100% tower fiberisation for 6G, and it's now at 38%

New Delhi, <keyword id="6354776" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telecom">Telecom</keyword> major <keyword id="6354287" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bharti-airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> on Monday announced its partnership with <keyword id="173942" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Small-Industries-Corporation">National Small Industries Corporation</keyword> (NSIC) to accelerate the <keyword id="860946" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-transformation">digital transformation</keyword> of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (<keyword id="6393272" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="MSMEs">MSMEs</keyword>) in India. NSIC is a Government of India Enterprise having its mission "to promote and support MSME sector by providing integrated support services encompassing marketing, technology, finance and other services". This partnership with NSIC envisages digital transformation of this critical sector as key to the Central government's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' for enabling MSMEs to scale up faster by ways of adopting digital ways of doing business. "We are delighted to join hands with NSIC to fast-track their digital transformation journey. <keyword id="15491" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>'s <keyword id="106831" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="pan-India">pan-India</keyword> network, deep distribution reach as well as easily accessible digital platforms would give MSMEs the flexibility and convenience of addressing all their digital connectivity requirements through a single window," said Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO, Airtel Business. The offerings would come with the trusted support from Airtel that ensures high customer satisfaction through industry leading service uptime. Airtel already serves more than one million medium and small businesses across India with best-in-class products that are available to customers in highly flexible formats. "This partnership with Airtel is envisaged to serve multiple ICT needs of MSME sector for sustained growth and increased productivity," said P. Udayakumar, Director (Planning and Marketing), NSIC. MSMEs are an important growth engine of the Indian economy. With more than 60 million business units, the sector contributes to 29 per cent of India's GDP, 40 per cent of exports and employs more than 110 million people. These businesses are looking for reliable, secure connectivity and digital platforms that would add to their efficiency and competitiveness, the company said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/gadgets/news/oneplus-band-with-24-hour-heart-rate-monitoring-14-days-battery-life-launched-in-india/articleshow/80209025.cms">OnePlus Band with 24-hour heart rate monitoring, 14 days battery life launched in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/radhakishan-damani-dmart-ready-takes-cautious-steps-against-jiomart-and-amazon/articleshow/80209971.cms">Pitted against JioMart, Amazon and others, Radhakishan Damani’s DMart has opted for “controlled acceleration” in e-commerce</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/oyo-cashes-in-another-cheque-from-swedish-billionaire-martin-hp-sderstrm-for-its-vacation-homes-business-in-europe/articleshow/80214916.cms">OYO cashes in another cheque from Swedish billionaire Martin HP Söderström for its vacation homes business in Europe</a>

Airtel partners with NSIC to accelerate the digital transformation of MSMEs in India

New Delhi, Apr 1 () Growth in global IT spending is expected to reduce by 3-4 per cent by the end of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it also presents an opportunity to IT vendors to step-up as consulting partners for their clients, research firm IDC said on Wednesday. IDC said while the major impact is expected to be on hardware business, the software and services businesses are also expected to slow down. "However, adoption of collaborative applications, security solutions, Big Data and AI are set to see an increase in the coming days. It has also given an opportunity for IT vendors to test some concepts of 'Future of Work' and some of them might become mainstream as the dust settles," IDC noted. It also provides an opportunity to IT vendors to step-up as consulting partners to hand-hold their clients in helping them sail through the crisis, it added. "While the actual impact of COVID-19 on India market will be evident by middle of 2020, we expect a slowdown in terms of discretionary IT spending, contract renewals and new deals getting signed as enterprises recalibrate by cost structure in coming months. "Existing project executions have also taken a hit due to travel restrictions in place," IDC India Research Director Enterprise Solutions and ICT Practices Sharath Srinivasamurthy said. He added that IT vendors will be forced to relook at their growth targets for the rest of the year as the impact will become evident in the next few quarters. "On the other hand, it has provided an opportunity to IT vendors to test their resilience on business continuity, remote connectivity, and security as they look at innovative ways to service their clients. Enterprises are looking at IT vendors to handhold them in the hour of crisis," he said. IDC pointed out that corporates across the country are implementing alternative ways of working, which is generating a parallel corporate line that demands to be connected from where they want, when they want and to who they want. "While work from home is not a new concept for Indian corporates, it certainly is a testing time to see the success at this scale. "Enterprises are also exploring ways of working together that leverages conversations, meetings, and assets across platforms with employees working remotely from wherever they are located to serve customers better and ensure business continuity," it said. IDC expects the adoption of collaborative applications growing at a rapid pace after the COVID-19 outbreak. IT vendors are working with clients to get special approvals, wherever needed, to have employees connect remotely to continue providing services especially in supporting mission-critical IT systems. The companies are also expected to pay attention to have necessary 'force majeure' clauses to cover situations like outbreaks in addition to existing clauses around acts of God and natural disasters in their contracts. SR SHW ABMABM

Growth in global IT spending may fall by 2020-end but presents opportunities for IT cos, says IDC

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) To help develop the next generation of Cloud professionals, seven higher education institutions in India will adopt Cloud computing curricula from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educate global initiative into their mainstream college syllabus, the Cloud arm of ecommerce giant Amazon said on Friday. The Cloud computing content will be offered as part of undergraduate degree and postgraduate diploma programmes starting in September this year. Cloud computing is a top workforce skill sought by companies, as reported by a LinkedIn study conducted annually over the last five years. This new effort is aimed at providing students with knowledge and competency-based credentials in skills such as Cloud architecture, data analytics, cybersecurity, Machine Learning, and software development. "Building a cloud-ready workforce is key to enabling technology-led growth in India that will drive innovation at speed and create impact at scale," Rahul Sharma, President, India and South Asia Public Sector, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited, said in a statement. "Integrating cloud curricula as part of mainstream college education represents a shift in the way the industry and academia can come together to build the next-generation of highly-skilled Cloud professionals." The education institutions offering the newly-designed Bachelor of Technology degree programs in Information Technology (IT) and Computer Science are -- Chitkara University, Punjab; Galgotias University, Uttar Pradesh; Manav Rachna University, Delhi and NCR; Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology, Uttar Pradesh; Sharda University, Delhi and NCR; and SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu. The ASM Institute of Management and Computer Studies in Maharashtra will offer syllabus combined with the AWS Educate Cloud curricula for its Post Graduate Diploma in Management -- Emerging Technology. All students participating in the degree and diploma programmes will be enrolled in AWS Educate, Amazon's global initiative to provide students comprehensive resources for building skills in the Cloud, and provided with AWS Promotional Credits to gain real-world, hands-on experience using AWS Cloud technology. Supporting this effort is IT industry body Nasscom which will facilitate greater industry participation by engaging key employers in information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITES) segments in India, to build a talent pipeline equipped with cloud skills. ICT Academy, a not-for-profit society that collaborates with state governments and industry to train higher education teachers and industry-ready students, will also assist the education institutions with faculty development and curriculum alignment, AWS said. --IANS gb/na

7 Indian institutes introduce 'AWS Educate' Cloud computing curricula

Hyderabad, July 2 (IANS) The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in the country, will develop its smart data centre in Hyderabad at an investment of Rs 500 crore. Telangana's Minister for Industry and Information Technology K.T.Rama Rao on Thursday laid the foundation stone of the smart data centre that would be recognised as the first Tier IV data centre in Hyderabad. The facility, to be built as per the international standards, will house the national critical set-up with highly secured infrastructure. It will host major services under the Digital India initiatives. The smart data centre would be located in Narsingi village in Ranga Reddy district. With this data centre, Hyderabad will be one of the major hubs for processing payments with a value of almost Rs 15 lakh crore per month and transactions of about 14,000 million per month, according to a statement from the minister's office. The NPCI has chosen Telangana to set up the facility as it is one of the strategic and fastest growing IT corridors in the country with advantage of supportive geographical presence, availability of abundant human resources and best in class network and infrastructure and extraordinary support from the state government. This will add to Telangana brand equity in attracting investments in the Information &amp; Communication Technology (ICT) sector, it said. The proposed smart data centre would ensure high availability up to 99.995 per cent and complied with full redundant infrastructure (N+N) even during natural calamities like earthquakes, cyclones etc. and have modular design for higher sustainability. It is going to be environment friendly with the adoption of green building features, rain water harvesting and solar panels. The centre is being built with an Internet of Things (IoT) based building management system that will have eight layers of security system. NPCI has engaged Larsen &amp; Toubro (L&amp;T) as its turnkey contractor for building the centre. NPCI MD &amp; CEO, Dilip Asbe said their focus will always remain on enhancing acceptance infrastructure for digital payments so as to encourage customers towards digital transactions to achieve RBI and government's less cash objective. He said with the smart data centre, they were happy to create more employment opportunities as well. --IANS ms/vd

NPCI to build Rs 500 crore smart data centre in Hyderabad

New Delhi, Apr 30 () India's domestic IT spending on hardware, software and services is expected to drop by 4.5 per cent in 2020 impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, according to research firm IDC. The forecast decline compares with 2019 growth rate of 9.1 per cent as per IDC's Worldwide Black Book Live Edition, March 2020. IDC said the hardware segment will contribute the most to this decline. It said growth in spending on software this year is expected to drop to 4.1 per cent due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to 2019 growth rate of 16.7 per cent as enterprises re-look at their buying decisions owing to increased focus on profitability. Growth in IT services is expected to be almost flat at 6.9 per cent as enterprises look at maintaining the status quo on IT services contracts, it added. IDC said there will be a demand for productivity applications as the remote workforce increases. Collaborative application vendors are looking at making minor adjustments and offering the premium version through a minimum price subscription model. Apart from collaborative tools, cloud platforms, security solutions, automation technologies, and most of the other applications will post only marginal growth, it added. On the IT services side, endpoint and network services will witness a stronger demand because of extended remote working options. "Hardware and software implementation or integration services will be slightly impacted because of the non-deployment/non-availability of new hardware or software. Implementation and integration services will be severely impacted," IDC noted. New outsourcing deals or renewals will be shelved because of financial duress impacting the growth of the managed services market, it added. "IT vendors are gearing up to adapt and transform the way of doing business, in a bid to support their clients during these testing times," IDC India Senior Research Manager (Enterprise Software &amp; IT Services) Shweta Baidya said. Although IT spending will be impacted, specific solutions such as conferencing and collaboration, secure endpoint and network management, CRM, cloud storage, back-up and recovery solutions, and remote support and services will continue to witness a steady rise amidst the crisis, she added. "Enterprises are investing in solutions that enable their remote workforce to remain productive without service disruptions," she said. IDC said renewal of long-term IT services contracts will be delayed by a few quarters and organisations will adopt a wait-and-watch approach for non-critical IT spending. However, enterprises are also looking at cloud options for business continuity, infrastructure services, and application management. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented situation globally. It could be an economically catastrophic event, forcing enterprises to re-look at their IT spend. Focus of chief executives will shift to initiatives that impact operational agility and resiliency, and hence, digital transformation strategies will be recalibrated, IDC said. "The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant disruption to the economy across the globe, leading to tectonic shifts in how the business will be conducted and leverage IT for accelerated transitions. Digital transformation has again become the centrepiece for all boardroom discussions as enterprises adjust to a new world in which all businesses are virtual. Enterprises are evaluating software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud models to facilitate business in a digital world," IDC India Research Director (Enterprise Solutions and ICT Practices) Sharath Srinivasamurthy said. SR HRS

IDC sees India's IT spending drop by 4.5 pc in 2020 amid COVID-19 pandemic

Smriti Irani-led HRD Ministry is boasting of a slew of decisions and initiatives taken and also accomplished. 
 
The education ministry claims that it has achieved 100% target completion of construction of separate toilets for boys and girls in schools under Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan during the year 2015. 
 
Under several initiatives taken by the HRD ministry, higher education gains prominence as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced more allocation for higher education. 
 
In 2015-16 budget, Jaitley had marginally reduced overall allocations towards education but had increased the planned higher education budget by nearly 22%. 
 
Jaitley proposed to set aside Rs.69, 074.76 crore for education in 2015-16 and higher education was given a plan allocation of Rs.15, 8555.26 crore as against Rs13,000 crore pegged in the revised budget for 2014-15. 
 
Here are some initiatives take by the HRD ministry under higher education till December 31, 2015 
 
Campus connect programme 
All the central universities in the country are going to be connected through WIFI network at a cost of approximately Rs320 crore. Under this, all the classrooms, libraries, laboratories, hostels and places frequented by the students would be connected through a secured WIFI hotspots providing access to the educational and information resources to the students on 24x7 basis. This project will be implemented by ERNET and is expected to be completed by June 2016. 
 
Promoting start-ups 
37 new startup parks/research parks would be set up this year with the coordination of Dept of Science and Technology (fund sharing on 50:50 basis) covering all the IITs, NITs and some IIITs/Central Universities. These would incubate the start-ups and handhold them till they reach the stage of commercialization, normally for a period of five years. IIT Madras Research Park has already become fully functional. 
 
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 
This was launched connecting higher education and society to enable technology and its use for development of rural areas. Under this all technical and higher education institutions have been asked to adopt five villages each; identify technology gaps and prepare plans for innovations that could substantially increase the incomes and growth in the rural areas. 
 
Ucchtar Aavishkar Abhiyaan 
For promotion of innovation, All the IITs have been encouraged to work with the industry to identify areas where innovation is required and come up with solutions that could be brought up to the commercialization level. For this purpose, it is proposed to launch a scheme Ucchtar Aavishkar Abhiyan by investing Rs 250 crore every year on identified projects proposed by IITs and NITs. 
 
Engineering skills to unemployed youth 
An initiative as a part of the PMKVY is being launched to encourage all the 10,000 technical institutions (engineering and polytechnic) to provide engineering skills (through part-time courses of 6 to 8 months duration) to at least 100 unemployed youth using their infrastructure after college-hours. The training costs would be met by the central government and the placement of the trained youth is the responsibility of the institution. This is expected to provide high quality skilled persons required for the Make in India campaign. 
 
Imprint India 
Imprint India, Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative, aims at direct research in the premier institutions into areas of social relevance. Under this, 10 domains have been identified, which could substantially impact the living standards of the rural areas, including healthcare technology, nano technology, computer science and ICT, manufacturing technology and environment/climate change. The research in each of these areas is being coordinated by one IIT. 
 
Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN) 
It was launched as an initiative to attract the best foreign academics to Indian Universities of Excellence. The programme has been launched to facilitate the partnership between higher education institutions of India and other foreign universities. Under this, 352 courses are being offered by foreign faculty from 38 countries. The cost of the travel and honorarium ranging from $8,000 - $12,000 is being met from the scheme funds. 
 
Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) 
The web portal is the Indian electronic e-education platform which proposes to offer courses from the high school stage to post-graduate stage in an interactive electronic platform. The IT platform for SWAYAM is going to be built and is expected to be operationalized by March 31, 2016 with a capacity to host nearly 2,000 courses. This would provide the best quality education to more than three crore students across the country. SWAYAM-MOOCs project is intended to address the needs of school level 9-12 to Under Graduate and Post Graduate students, covering all disciplines.

Budget 2015 report card: Here’s how Smriti Irani-led HRD Ministry fared

The future of digital enterprise in the post-pandemic era <keyword id="13185080" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sharath-Srinivasamurthy" source="Orion">Sharath Srinivasamurthy</keyword>, Research Director, Enterprise Solutions and <keyword id="14326688" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ict-practices-team" source="Orion">ICT Practices Team</keyword>, IDC, brings nearly two decades of experience in mapping Indian enterprises’ technology and <keyword id="860946" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="digital-transformation" source="Orion">digital transformation</keyword> journeys. In this extensive conversation with Business Insider India, he talks about how Indian organizations will accelerate their digital agendas, what their key priorities are and how the industry’s growing skills shortage can be addressed. Edited excerpts: Over two years into the massive shift to being ‘digital-first’, how are Indian enterprises reassessing the long-term impacts of their digital initiatives? Indian enterprises have shown tremendous resilience in the last two years, adapting well to the changing market dynamics. They have invested in large-scale reskilling of existing employees on digital technologies, hired new talent from the market, established strategic partnerships with various digital ecosystem players, developed solutions/IPs, set up innovation labs, and executed multiple acquisitions to develop new capabilities. The IDC <keyword id="14326687" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Future-Enterprise-Resiliency-Survey" source="Orion">Future Enterprise Resiliency Survey</keyword> (FERS), October 2021 shows that 92% of Indian enterprises realize the positive impact of digital transformation (DX) on the top and/or bottom line by 10% to 20%. Enterprises recognize that technology architecture is becoming business architecture and want to use technology to drive more revenue-generating activities. Indian enterprises will look to better position themselves against short-term volatility while staying on course toward long-term outcomes such as digital revenue growth. With the adoption of the ‘digital-first’ mentality, along with the ongoing pandemic, Indian enterprises are focusing on investments in technologies that drive automation of IT resources and business processes. In the post-pandemic era, if we may call it that, do you see this digital momentum continuing or will organizations take a pause to strategize further? The coming years will witness an acceleration in the adoption of digital technologies. In fact, IDC estimates emphasize that digital transformation (DX) spending in India is growing at a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.90% from 2020 to 2025 and is expected to approach $99 billion as companies build on existing strategies and investments, becoming digital-at-scale future enterprises. By 2023, a whopping 75% of Indian enterprises will have comprehensive digital transformation (DX) implementation roadmaps, up from 27% today, resulting in true transformation across all facets of business and society. What will be the key areas of focus for enterprises’ digital investments in this context? While the momentum will continue, Indian enterprises will focus on a few key areas to derive benefits out of their digital investments. <ul><li>Having the right KPIs to measure and convert them to business outcomes: Indian enterprises will relook at how they measure the effectiveness of their IT teams and investments. They need to tie IT initiatives to business outcomes. </li><li>Keeping pace with changing technology and being innovative: It is always difficult to keep pace with ever-changing technology. However, it is critical to experiment with new technologies. The mindset of innovation will be the focus of Indian enterprises. Innovation need not be something big, something pathbreaking. It can be incremental small changes, but they will add in the long run.</li><li>Developing a culture of agility: Indian enterprises will focus on agility in trying new products and services to keep improvising. Since there is an accelerated demand for digital technologies, the war for digital talent will continue in 2022 as well. Indian enterprises will continue to focus on reskilling existing employees with digital technologies</li><li>Harnessing data: It is critical to breaking the functional and data silos. Indian enterprises will focus on analyzing the data on an ongoing basis. They will leverage AI to manage their IT operations efficiency and reduce the cost of operations.</li></ul>Skill shortage is coming across as a major roadblock for organizations in achieving their innovation goals, especially around digital/cloud technologies, and AI. How is this affecting their digital transformation roadmaps? Transformation projects that would otherwise take ages to get approvals were given the green light due to the pandemic, as it became a necessity for Indian enterprises for continued operations and product delivery. With this acceleration came a realization that a lack of skills was creating a bottleneck in the transformation. DX-related IT skill shortages will affect 90% of global enterprises by 2025, costing over $6.5 trillion globally through 2025 due to delayed product releases, reduced customer satisfaction, and loss of business according to IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Work 2022 Predictions. When Indian enterprises are ‘underskilled, as opposed to understaffed, the consequences are similar, but the remediation is more complicated. The lack of skills has an adverse influence on the key business metrics including the profit line. Though a majority of the demand for skilled personnel is among IT professionals to implement and manage the technology underpinning the business transformation, there is also an increasing demand for digital skills in the business. These include leadership, analytics, coding, and managing projects in agile environments. Employees who have those skills can help take their businesses to the next level. How can Indian enterprises continue their DX journey against the growing skill shortage? Indian enterprises have several choices to address the challenge of underskilled employees —focus on addressing skills shortages through training, engage third-party support, and automation of processes, while <keyword id="7771650" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gig-workers" source="Orion">gig workers</keyword> are also being utilized. According to IDCs Digital Transformation survey, India 2022, Indian enterprises report that poor resource skills or the availability of the right skill set for digital transformation or infrastructure modernization is among the top three challenges that Indian enterprises encounter. Indian enterprises invested in online training to reskill employees on digital skills and be prepared for expansion plans once the crisis ends. Some are collaborating with third parties such as IT service providers to invest in reskilling existing employees to bridge the skill gap. Indian enterprises are also looking to automate processes to reduce the impact of skill shortages. The demand for gig workers has also risen as they are reliable in accomplishing a business plan within a limited time frame. There is an increased urgency to adopt AI in business processes to allow employees to focus on strategic and core functions instead of performing repetitive tasks in a traditional setup. So, Indian enterprises should take a hybrid approach of having skills in-house and partners who can bring the right skills to the table. Indian enterprises have built capabilities through reskilling and partnerships in the areas of digital technologies, customer experience, automation, cloud (migration and modernization) , next-gen security, AI, IoT, etc. Solving the skills equation has become a C-suite issue, and Indian enterprises are moving to create a culture of continuous learning and collaboration that will support their digital resiliency efforts in the future. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/maha-crisis-fadvanis-shinde-to-decide-the-next-course-of-action/articleshow/92543340.cms">Maha crisis: Fadvanis, Shinde to decide the next course of action</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/uddhav-thackeray-the-accidental-chief-minister/articleshow/92559485.cms">Uddhav Thackeray: The accidental chief minister</a>

‘Tech architecture is becoming business architecture, enterprises recognize that’

<keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>, in an interview to ANI, said the opposition alleging that his government is a 'suit-boot ki sarkaar' is definitely better and more acceptable than being labelled a 'suitcase' (ki sarkaar), and satirically added, that after ruling for sixty years, the <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> has suddenly remembered the poor. 

	Excerpts:
 

	1. In a scale of 1-10, how would you grade your government?
 

	It is for the people of this country to grade and evaluate us. How can I take away their right? I have presented my report card to the country. Recently, media has published the findings of some surveys. You would already have seen them. I can only say that we have laid a solid foundation on which the people can rate us.
 

	2. You came in with the promise of 'Acche Din.' Have you been able to meet the goals that you set for yourself in the first year of the government?
 

	Yes. I am fully satisfied with the work that we have done. The most satisfying part of this year is that we have lived up to the promise that our intentions will be pure and our actions will be driven by long-term national interest. Recall the situation one year ago. Massive corruption at various levels of Government gave rise to scams on a regular basis. Our precious natural resources were going into the hands of a chosen few. In contrast, there are neither any charges of corruption against my Government nor any scandals. Corruption was seen as the biggest problem. We have given a clean, transparent and efficient Government. Burey Dino Ki Vidayee Hui hai. (Bad days are over). Is this not Acche Din for the country?
 

	3. What has been the single big success in the past year? 
 

	The achievements and successes of my government are numerous. However, I know that the success of a government's journey lies in reaching the last man. Therefore, our efforts were directed towards the poor and marginalized. We have also paid special attention to remote corners of the country. Our objective is to transform quality of life, infrastructure and services. We have worked simultaneously on all fronts which bring a smile on the face of the common man. I can give you some examples. From controlling food prices to enhancing farm productivity; improving Railways to strengthening Roads; generating electricity to its 24x7 availability; building school toilets to setting up IITs, IIMs and AIIMS; building houses for the homeless to upgrading our heritage cities; cleaning surroundings to bridging the digital divide; making world class products to skilling and employment generation; strengthening the banking system to funding the unfunded; ensuring labour welfare to providing social security to common man; rejuvenating rivers to irrigating fields; from enhancing co-operation with States to deepening foreign relations; we have worked at an energetic pace and with innovative spirit. 
 Bringing back black money was a major electoral promise, but then your party president, <keyword id="6355521" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amit-Shah">Amit Shah</keyword> gave the word 'jumla' to it and Arun Shourie criticized the procedures adopted by the finance ministry. How committed is your government in bringing back black money to India? 

	My Government is fully committed on the issue of Black Money. We want to crack down severely on tax evasion and black money. I had taken up this issue with world leaders during the G-20 summit. In our very first cabinet meeting, we formed an SIT. Then, we presented a new legislation in Parliament which is very stringent. We want to make it more difficult to evade taxes and siphon money abroad. We are also aggressively pursuing cases against those who have stashed funds illegally in foreign banks. Recently the names of some such persons have been revealed. We are also trying to move towards cashless transactions. We want to make maximum use of ICT in our tax administration.
 

	At the same time, we want to remove the discretion which causes corruption and generation of Black Money. Hence, we promulgated ordinances in sectors like coal and mines. It has proved to be a good step. We have generated Rs. 3.30 lakh crore for the country so far through transparent auction of some coal mines. Similar is the case with auction of spectrum. I can say that if your intentions are noble, you are sure to get success and required support.
 

	5. Key bills like the Land Acquisition Bill has got stiff opposition from the opposition. They have been able to create doubts about the government's intention. What do you have to say? 
 

	Opposition to our Land Bill is totally unjustified and unfortunate. We have not made any changes for private industry. Moreover, if you have money, you don't need a Land Acquisition Act to accumulate land. Some individuals have done so in Rajasthan, Haryana, Shimla, Delhi etc. Land acquisition becomes necessary for government-driven strategic and development activities, especially in undeveloped areas. 
 

	This too is done mostly by State Governments. We have made changes only in response to demands of the States. The benefits of these changes will also accrue to the rural poor in terms of irrigation, housing, electrification, as well as better physical and social infrastructure.
 
 

	In this country, the Land Acquisition Act was almost 120 years old. The Congress-led Governments used the same Act after independence. Suddenly, before the last Parliamentary elections, the Congress went to another extreme by legislating an Act which is neither in the interest of farmers nor in the interest of the country's development. 
 

	Now, they are not even ready to sit and discuss. We believe in dialogue with all political parties. I have personally appealed in Parliament that we are ready to open a dialogue with political parties and consider their suggestions. I hope that the parties will cooperate on issues of larger national importance without getting into political calculations. 
 

	6. How are you going to convince the farmers of this country that you mean well?
 

	The proposed Land Acquisition Bill focuses on benefitting the farmer and balancing the long-term interests of the nation. The world is changing fast. Even farmers need canals to irrigate, roads to transfer products from farms to markets. They need hospitals, schools and houses. Farmers want modern amenities in their vicinity and jobs in formal sectors for their sons and daughters. I have always believed that if we want inclusive development, we need amenities. We need to match the development of such amenities with agricultural growth. This is what the Bill strives to do while safeguarding the interests of farmers. Our amendments only aim to do away with the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the 2013 Act. I am sure the farmers of this country will understand where their real welfare lies.
 

	7. Agriculture is in distress in the country. To a large extent the problem is endemic and decades of mismanagement have resulted in the present situation but how does your government plan to stem the tide of farmer suicides and farming stress?
 
 The root causes of the problem find mention in your question itself. This is a very important issue and the Government is concerned about it. We have responded to the recent agrarian crisis with alacrity. We have undertaken several reforms. The <keyword id="6362177" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-government">Union Government</keyword> has enhanced the relief norms for compensation against crop loss by 50%. 

	The limit of minimum crop damage, for grant of compensation, has been reduced from 50% to 33%. Norms have been relaxed to allow procurement of damaged food grains at MSP rates. The target of agricultural credit has been enhanced in our two consecutive budgets. 
 

	But as you said, the problem in agriculture is endemic. Nothing much was done for six long decades. But we have started long-term steps for the farm sector. To address the issue of access to irrigation for every farm, and efficient utilization of water, the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been started. Blue Revolution which aims to improve production and productivity in the fisheries sector is also an action point. We have launched the soil health card scheme. The price stabilization fund with a corpus of Rs. 500 crores has also been set up for perishable commodities. Rashtriya Gokul Mission has been commenced with the objective of conserving and developing indigenous cattle breeds. We have made honest and sincere efforts for rural development. I have recently launched the Kisan Channel for giving timely information to farmers on inputs and markets. In the coming days, I would like to see more focused action on increasing Farm Productivity; Rural Industrialization; Skill Development in rural areas and rural trades, and faster Investments in Rural Infrastructure including cold chain.
 

	8. The opposition has termed your government as suit boot ki sarkar. What is your take on this allegation? 
 

	Suit-boot is definitely more acceptable than suitcase. After ruling for sixty years, the Congress has suddenly remembered the poor. People of this country have suffered and remained poor due to shortsighted policies of the Congress. Many countries of the world have surpassed us on all accounts including poverty removal. Congress did incremental work so as to keep the issue relevant for next election. Did the coal and spectrum scandals or the CWG fiasco benefit the poor? Everyone knows who were their beneficiaries - some chosen industrialists and contractors. The result of Congress's politics and governance of sixty years is that poverty is still our biggest challenge. One-fourth of the families are without shelter. Health, education, water, electricity and roads are even bigger unrealised dreams for a large number of citizens of this country. You should ask them- If you were pro-poor, why does poverty still exist in India?"
 

	9. Opposition says that your government is pro-industrialists.
 

	Those who gave away precious natural resources like coal and spectrum to their favourite industrialists have no right to say this. We are working for the common man of the country. 
 
 
 
 

	We implemented the Jan Dhan scheme and opened more than 14 crore bank accounts for financial inclusion. Earlier also, there were banks, as well as people without bank accounts. What did they do all these years?
 

	The so called pro-poor have been just repeating that there is leakage in subsidy. We used technology to ensure that LPG subsidy reaches the targeted person directly; We have launched MUDRA Bank for financing 6 crore small vendors and businesses 61% of whom are SCs, STs, OBCs and Minorities; We have launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana which the Congress did not think of in sixty years; We have planned to see that by 2022, no family remains without a roof over its head; The Soil Health Card scheme has been launched to enhance farm productivity and reduce expenses, thereby enhancing the farmer's income. 
 

	We have come out with a comprehensive social security scheme for the poor and marginalised, old and those with low income levels; Swachh Bharat Mission has been started to see that health and hygiene issues of the poor do not affect the working capacity and output of the poor and labourers; Railways, on which the common man travels, is being changed for the better.
 

	We have set up the Skill Development Ministry to enhance employability of the youth to whom we are committed to provide jobs through initiatives like 'Make in India'. In the past, the country had been led into an economy of jobless growth.
 

	We provided for reservation of women in the police forces of Union Territories. This was done even when there were no elections around the corner. 
 

	Through the regime of coal auction that we have put in place, more than Rs. three lakh crore have already been generated for the less-developed states of India. This money will be used for the poor of those states.
 
 These are just a few examples. Why were these things not done in the past sixty years. Who prevented them? Their worry is not that we are not pro-poor. Their worry is that they are being exposed as not being pro-poor. People are asking them: "If <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi Government</keyword> can think and do this in six to nine months, why could you not think and do it in sixty years." 

	10. You have travelled to 17 countries in 12 months...something that nobody expected you to do as you were seen as a novice on foreign policy matters. But you seem to enjoy running the country's foreign policy. Any comments? 
 

	Foreign engagements are international obligations on the part of the Prime Minister. All Prime Ministers have to do this. Moreover, this is an integrated world. We have to attend international, multilateral and bilateral summits, and build ties with our neighbours and other nations. Our foreign policy is mature and there is a full-fledged mechanism to pursue it. I have only added an element of dynamism to it. We have strived to strongly further our economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region. We have endeavoured to nurture new economic partnerships and tap reserves of energy, minerals, technology and finance from major economies.
 
 11. In real terms, do you see that the Chinese will actually deliver on the financial pledge they have done, that the US will open up its markets for India, that Pakistan will give up its anti-India agenda? That our smaller neighbours will stop seeing us as a bully? Yes, I am sure that the commitments and agreements will be implemented. We have received a commitment from the Government of <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword> for facilitating public and private funding of 3.5 trillion Yen - or approximately $35 billion dollars - over the next five years; there are agreements with China on two industrial parks and intended investments of 20 billion US dollars; there are investment plans of about 42 billion U.S. dollars from U.S. companies over the next five years. <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword> has proposed to manufacture helicopters in India. With Australia and Canada, we have signed civil nuclear cooperation agreements, and other agreements to strengthen our energy security. With the United States, we have moved forward in implementation of the civil nuclear agreement and signed a significant partnership agreement to use renewable energy for rapidly expanding rural access to energy. There has been good response from financial institutions, including pension funds from Korea, Canada, Australia and the US. There is a strong support in all major economies for our "Make in India" programme. 

	In the neighbourhood, there has been forward movement on the 5600 MW Pancheshwar project in Nepal, that was stuck for the last 25 years. Similarly, with Bangladesh we have settled the land boundary issue. We are working with a spirit of mutual benefit. There is no question of bullying anyone. Our recent help to Nepal during the natural calamity shows that our approach is brotherly. With Pakistan too, we will pursue our long-standing approach. We will continue our efforts to advance cooperation and connectivity, without compromising our national security. 
 

	12. If we were to return to domestic issues, you have come for criticism from many for not being able to reign in vitriolic elements in your party who have made disparaging remarks against minorities. What do you say? 
 

	Our Constitution guarantees religious freedom to every citizen and that is not negotiable. The tradition of welcoming, respecting and honouring all faiths is as old as India itself. As Swami Vivekananda said: We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. This principle of equal respect and treatment for all faiths has been a part of India's ethos for thousands of years. And that is how it became integral to the Constitution of India. Our Constitution did not evolve in a vacuum. It has roots in the ancient cultural traditions of India. I expect that everyone will understand and respect this.
 

	13. Why do some elements in your party feel emboldened to say awful things even though they ought to know that a Prime Minister of India cannot really support bigots in his cabinet? 
 

	I have said this before and I say it again: any discrimination or violence against any community will not be tolerated. My position on this is very clear: Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas. We stand for each of the 1.25 billion Indians regardless of caste or creed and we will work for the progress of each of them. Every faith in our country has equal rights; it is equal not only before the law but also before society. 

	 
	As published in ET.

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