Telecommunication, the tool of empowerment in India

With over 850 million mobile users in India, this is just the beginning of the telecom revolution that is going to take place in India over the next 10-20 years. With such a massive platform, it is now possible to create all types of innovation and also tools that can empower the masses.  Applications such as TCS’ mKrishi (Krishi means farming in Hindi), the Mobile Agro Advisory System provides an ecosystem that empowers farmers. This is done by providing information on microclimate, local market price and other subjects of relevance to farmers on a mobile phone. It also enables farmers to send queries specific to their land and crop and receive personalized replies from agricultural experts, on their phones. Another example is the application created by Bangalore-based Vinfinet Technologies,called Kisan Raja, it is a GSM-based controller that allows farmers to control irrigation pumps using mobile or landline phones from within the comforts of the house.

Second wave of e-commerce in India

The second wave of e-commerce in India is here, with the number of internet users crossing  100Million. This wave of ecommerce is about evolving business models for India’s specific requirements rather than simply replicating what happened in the West in the last century. One aspect of customising the business model for the Indian market has been around the payment options offered to the consumers since those making a success of ecommerce in India have accepted that the Indian consumer is still mostly comfortable with cash payments. Therefore, cash on delivery or part payment on the web followed by payments offline is how the payment model has evolved. This large number of internet users implies that for any e-commerce firm that is successful, it also means taking into consideration scaleability right from the beginning.

Cloud Computing and Indian SME Collaboration

The Tirupur Exporters Association, in Tamil Nadu, through a special purpose vehicle called G-Tech Info Solutions, has collaborated with top global vendors (including Microsoft, Wipro and SAP) to form a common 'cloud computing' platform. This will automate and simplify process across domains like manufacturing, logistics, finance, human resource, customer and vendor relationship for over 4,000 SME's in Tirupur. "Garments alone do a business of $9 billion out of India. It is no big deal to increase the exports by 15%, if this system is implemented in other clusters of India," says Sanjay Kumar Gupta, CMD of G-Tech Info Solutions. Gupta, an entrepreneur himself, is now planning to roll out the model to other textile clusters across India and foreign markets such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Increasing digitisation of entertainment in India

India is the world’s third largest TV market with almost 138 million TV Households (HHs) behind China and USA. Cable and Satellite (C&S) penetration has reached close to 80 percent with soaring growth shown by the DTH platform. DTH subscribers grew by 75% from 2009 reaching 28 Million net subscribers, showing a shift towards digital technologies for entertainment. The Indian government is also pushing for digitization by mandating that digital infrastructure is to be used by 2015. As the UK has already made the shift from analogue to digital, there is experience embedded in the UK that can support the development of India’s digital infrastructure and of digital content.

Innovation and the UK

First UK Technology and Innovation Centre Opened

The first Technology and Innovation Centre has been opened. This initiative is part of the Government’s plan to grow the UK economy. The new centre in high value manufacturing (HVM) will be the first of at least six Technology and Innovation Centres to be established by April 2013.The Centre will capitalise on existing expertise and facilities established in the UK, bringing together seven institutions of excellence to better support UK manufacturing:

• Advanced Forming Research Centre (University of Strathclyde)
• Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (University of Sheffield)
• Centre for Process Innovation (Wilton & Sedgefield)
• Manufacturing Technology Centre (Coventry)
• National Composites Centre (University of Bristol)
• Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (University of Manchester and Sheffield)
• Warwick Manufacturing Group (University of Warwick)

By incorporating the seven institutions, the HVM Technology and Innovation Centre will support a number of different industries including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, food & beverages, healthcare, aerospace, automotive, energy, chemicals and electronics. The HVM Technology and Innovation Centre will commercialise business-led research and innovation that will help UK manufacturing businesses become more competitive on a world stage.  

Innovative UK technology for longer battery life

The Cambridge chip design company ARM provides the chips for the majority of the smartphones and tablets on the market. ARM has just unveiled a chip design that it says could mean cheaper smartphones with battery lives five times longer by 2013. Already Broadcom, Compal, Freescale, HiSilicon, LG Electronics, Linaro, OK Labs, QNX, Redbend, Samsung, Sprint, ST-Ericsson and Texas Instruments have publicly signed up to support the technologies.

UK Government’s priority for Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is definitely gaining attention as the UK Cabinet Office released a new strategy document that states that cloud computing should account for half of central government's new ICT spending by the end of 2015.