We asked Dr Bhaskar Das a question for today. The response brilliant, as usual, but also very insightful. We converted it to our Big Story. Read on…
Twenty twenty-three. I know it’s just another day and the change of the year is inconsequential, but since it is a n-e-w year, your sentiments? Any resolutions?
A. No, no. December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2023 are not just two dates in a calendar page. In reality, 2022 (any previous year, for that matter) taught us many useful lessons, including what not to do, and January 1, 2023 engenders hopes for future, not only for current generation but for the future ones too.
So, I am very optimistic and excited about 2023. The reasons are based on general trends that I can discern and the macro facts that make me feel optimistic about the India story.
Some of the things that I look forward to are:
1) Expanded roll-out of 5G will open a whole range of possibilities for individuals and businesses,
2) Though I am not a ‘gaming’ guy, the excitement about gaming is only going to go up and would be more immersive and social (this, in turn, would develop the whole ecosystem of developers, designers etc),
3) IT infrastructure would get more robust and be socially conscious about reducing carbon footprint and be conscious about being ESG compliant,
4) India’s EV sector would grow and consumers would adopt the new environment friendly automobile ecosystem,
5) Artificial Intelligence (AI) would penetrate every field to create impact both at the producer level and at the consumer level,
6) Indian developers and their communities would only grow to accelerate more innovation in India and around the globe,
7) Indian entrepreneurs would create new opportunities for business and would complement the legacy players’ efforts to transformation by balancing continuity with change.
The list can go on but I mentioned the dominant ones that might have significant black swan impact on the economy and society at large.
I need not delve deep on the India story which would be impacted by the above macro developments. Besides , I can see the government is taking a lot of initiatives for building infrastructure and digitisation to boost the economy, inspite of a global warning of gloom (not fully unreal though) and if India can maintain, as experts aver, a 6% growth of the economy and can generate requisite capital formation, it would not be a mean feat , given the lower estimates of other comparable economies during the same time. Indian manufacturing might also get benefited by a global preference for developing a China+1 policy.
While the above facts fuel the optimistic bones in me, I have some deep concerns about a growing trend of cybercrime, job losses (due to accelerated digital adoption and reduction of old jobs and cost control of legacy companies) and rise of inequalities which can exacerbate our social balance and its termite effect invading/ jeopardising many positive efforts. A fractional political discourse could also queer the pitch (read reduction of speed and conduciveness of positive sentiments).
So, a combination of positives and negatives would rule Indian society, whether one likes it or not. How as a country we navigate it would depend on the civil society.
Coming to making New Year Resolutions, I don’t believe in them. I believe in action, both at the macro and micro levels, to make an impact that touches maximum number of people for maximum good and a dominance of focusing on all good things that would happen in the country.
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