AIR Spotlight: India And The Fourth Industrial Revolution

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio Newsonair. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation. This article features a discussion on the India and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Participants:

• Jiten Kumar Jain, Cyber Security Expert 
• Sonu Sood, AIR Correspondent

Context:

• Inaugurating the Centre-State Science Conclave in Ahmedabad, the Indian Prime Minister called for efforts to make India into a global research and innovation hub over the next 25 years. 
• Notably, India was not a part of the first two industrial revolutions as we were not a free nation then and India was not able to reap the benefits of the third industrial revolution as during that time India was still seeking economic growth and development. Hence all efforts should be taken to ensure India does not miss out of the fourth industrial revolution.
  • The Fourth Industrial Revolution conceptualizes rapid change to technology, industries, and processes in the 21st century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. It can be considered a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies.

Government initiatives to promote Innovation:

• National Education policy incentivizes more holistic approach to education and emphasizes research and development.
• Atal innovation mission- Labs and incubation centres
• Support to start ups

Recommendations for India:

• All efforts must be taken to avoid brain drain from India. There is the need to have an ecosystem where such individuals are incentivized to stay back and innovate within India.
• The focus should be on to meet the local needs. Every citizen should be able to benefit from development in the science and technology. Only this can help ensure inclusive development of the nation. Emphasis on use of digital technologies in sectors such as education and health may be the way forward.
• Need for increased government expenditure to promote research and development in India.
• To incentivize private participation in the Research and development sector, a suitable policy should be put in place to incentivize their participation. A suitable ecosystem should be put in place to ensure the growth of research and development as well as innovation sector in India.
• There is the need for greater collaboration between the states and centre on one side and the state and private sector to ensure better effectiveness in the Research and development sector.

Read previous AIR Spotlight articles in the link.

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