August 15 2022: As we celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day, technology leaders from across verticals share their views on the progress made so far, and their vision for the next 25 years.
Puneet Gupta, Managing Director & VP India/SAARC, NetApp India Marketing and Services: As we celebrate the milestone 75th year of India’s Independence, this is not only a time for us to bask in the glory of our achievements, but also to reflect on where we are headed.When India embarked on its Digital India initiative, no one could have predicted the speed at which digital transformation would impact our daily lives! Many of the ambitious projects which were envisioned such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Aadhaar, Ayshuman Bharat, and CoWin, have already transformed our day-to-day experiences. As we plan for the next 25 years, India’s growth story will hinge on its ability to extract maximum value from data. According to estimates, data and AI could potentially add up to USD 500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025. Even if we are to mine a portion of data in a trusted ecosystem exchange between the public and private sectors, there lies an enormous scope for innovation. The next two and a half decades will be defined by how we approach the use of data in a big way to increase productivity, create new opportunities, enhance public services, and establish the country as a leader in the next wave of innovation.
Dhruvil Sanghvi, CEO, LogiNext: This Independence Day, I can proudly say that SaaS is an area where Indian startups are creating a mark globally, and the entire community is working hard towards accelerating this growth! Growing at a CAGR of 30% according to a NASSCOM report, Indian SaaS revenues were around $4 billion in FY 2021. And more than 75% of these revenues come from international markets. There are more than 200 Indian SaaS companies generating an ARR (annual recurring revenue) of more than 1 million and this number is growing rapidly. The Indian IT services wave was the first one that brought Indian technology talent to the global limelight. Strong technology colleges in India and a massive population studying and shining abroad have resulted in a pool of extremely smart Indians running global tech businesses. By 2025, I am optimistic that Indian SaaS revenues would be north of $15 billion and the number of SaaS startups will also double.
Rajesh Sinha, Chairman & Founder, Fulcrum Digital: In these past seven decades, India's technology capabilities have surpassed expectations, placing our country on the global map. Be it our Digital India drive or the consistent innovation by the startup ecosystem and tech giants, India is today well recognized as a hotbed for emerging technologies. As we celebrate the milestone 75th Independence Day, it allows us to bask in the glory of our achievements while also reflecting on where we are headed over the next 25 years. As we plan for the next significant year, i.e., our 100th Independence Day, the government is on a clear mission to accelerate the current growth rate to ensure citizens can extract the maximum value from this growth. At Fulcrum Digital, we are also in line with this objective. We aim to accelerate customers' businesses while improving lives through the power of our digital platforms. We are keen on strengthening the Digital India narrative and being part of India's fast-paced techade by bringing technologically advanced and future-ready products to the market through our integrated platform suite, digital engineering services, and technology consulting. The next few years will be a significant turning point in our country's history, and we hope to play a vital role in this transformation.
Irfan Pathan, Founder & CEO, Pi Green Innovations: As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our independence, we must acknowledge and appreciate the advancement the country has experienced. Having the third largest startup sector in the world with over 75,000 businesses, the Prime Minister has labelled startups as the "backbone" of New India. Now, as we chart our course for the coming era, we believe it's crucial to develop solutions that help maintain a sustainable future for the country. For this purpose, there must be a focus on upgrading to sustainable solutions, investing in automation, and garnering visibility for the country on global platforms.
Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director at Syska: As India’s 75th year of Independence approaches, it is essential to celebrate the development that the country has witnessed- once a simple under-developed country to being considered one of the world’s largest economies. With increasing investments, initiatives such as Make In India, and the overall advancement of technology, the Indian manufacturing sector is at the forefront of evolution. Over the years, Honorable PM Narendra Modi Ji continues to emphasize the need for energy consciousness in the country. While we focus on transcending our modern infrastructure, there remains a prominent need to adopt a holistic approach to energy conservation.
Peetham Uthaiah, EVP - Marketing & Strategy, Saankhya Labs: On this momentous occasion of India’s 75th year of Independence, we wish all our fellow Indians, a very Happy ‘Azadi Ka Amrith Mahotsav’. 75 years ago, when India awoke to life and to freedom, the Nation counted only as many as 84,000 telephone lines for its 350mn people. Today, our young Nation has a telecom user base of over 116.69 crore and internet connections that’ve crossed 834.29million! Today, our digital IT and telecommunication technologies have made it possible for people in the remotest villages in India to have global access. India is the fastest growing telecom market in the world; have the second biggest education system in the world; we are among the topmost countries in the world in the area of scientific research; one of the top five nations in the field for space exploration; one of the biggest consumers of data worldwide; the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world.
Shreegopal Kabra, Managing Director, RR Global: It is a proud moment for all of us as we celebrate the 75th year of Independence. The ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' is a commendable initiative by the government to encourage participation from people all over the country and to celebrate this historic moment. Over the years, the manufacturing sector has seen an indispensable growth and the ‘Make In India’ movement is only here to make it stronger. We at RR Kabel have also seen an incredible growth and potential in this country and are truly a proud Make In India company and hope that we continue to make our country proud for the next 75 years and beyond. According to Technavio’s report, the wire and cables market in India has the potential to grow by USD 1.65 billion during 2021-2025, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 3.80. The rising investments in underground cables and the growth of renewable energy are set to escalate the adoption of wires and cables.
Rajesh Kabra, Managing Director, RR Parkon: We would like to congratulate every citizen of India on this historic moment of completing 75 years of independence. Today, the youth of the country are leading and establishing their presence in all the sectors. India is one of the leading countries in technology developments and tech-enabled solutions that aim to revolutionize many sectors including the parking automation sector in India. The integration of ICT solution and the use of IOT and data have improved the overall efficiency of the Indian parking industry also making it an eco-friendly option compared to the traditional parking systems. On this day of independence, we are grateful to have this opportunity to cater to the citizens of the country and offer them solutions that will help the country solve one of the biggest issues of urbanisation. In the next 75 years, RR Parkon aspires to make the country a sustainable place to live in with the advancement of technology in parking solutions.
Ashish Rai, Vice Chairman & President of Aurionpro Solutions Ltd: On the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, it is incredible to see the digital transformation that is being spearheaded by both the public institutions as well as organisations across many industry verticals. Over the 75 years, India has advanced from being in the middle ranks of industrial nations to an information technology powerhouse and a global leader in building innovative platforms like UPI and ONDC that are unparalleled in their scale and transformational impact. While technology and technologists have been the critical accelerators for this growth, it is safe to say that India would not have earned its place on the global innovation map without the strong support and leadership from the government in enabling this growth. From an India Inc. perspective, organisations in key sectors like financial services, telecom, healthcare are actively leveraging the India stack and enabling platforms like Aadhar to drive innovation and scale that has enhanced both the impact as well as further democratization of digital services. We are committed to leading the industry in innovating, adapting, and leveraging emerging tech to build globally competitive yet locally relevant products and platforms that help India in achieving its objective of becoming a digital-first nation with a USD 1 trillion digital economy.