The Future is E7: Why India Will be the Next GDP Powerhouse

As India celebrates Independence Day and kite-fliers line the streets, there is an air of optimism to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech. He stands with a calculated expression and speaks clearly: “From being seen as among the fragile 5, India is now the land of reform, perform and transform. We are poised for record economic growth.” The latter is a phrase often heard and rarely delivered. With Modi however, there isn’t the least amount of theatre.

Currently, India boasts the ‘6th largest economy’. The ranking is modest and in infancy, the real GDP growth rate of India is staggering, 7.5% compared to the UK’s 1.7%. GDP projections forecast India rising to 2^nd by 2050, ahead of the US and behind China. Global economic power will shift to the E7 countries and the UK/Europe will be left to wonder what we missed. So what did we miss?

Digital Transformation in India

The pace of digital transformation is accelerating, and IDC expects that by 2021, at least 60% of India’s GDP will be derived from digital products and services, with growth in every industry driven by digitally enhanced offerings, operations and relationships.

While last year, about 4% of the country’s GDP was derived from digital products and services using digital technologies such as mobility, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), it is estimated that within the next four years, nearly 60% of India’s GDP will have a strong connection to the digital transformation trends.

Finance

Simply, India is putting their chips in digital transformation. They see, as we do, a digitalised future. Let’s look at banking. Robotics are now being used to automate repetitive and high-volume processes. The use of Blockchain technology has trended recently with the rise of Bitcoin. For India, digital banking is not a guessing game. BCT can help prevent fraud, increasing the resilience of the bank’s IT infrastructure and increasing transparency of processes.

Retail

India’s retail is set to near double from 600 billion (USD) to 1 trillion (USD) by 2020. The rise is once again driven by digital innovation. Chatbots, mobile wallets, Augmented Reality and AI are just some of the changes driving these forecasts.

Healthcare

India’s telemedicine market, with an annual growth of over 20%, is set to revolutionise the way customers interact with healthcare. The purpose of telemedicine is to bridge two geographical locations and enable teleconsultancy between two locations. Benefits include:

• Relaying information to individuals as well as to the population as a whole. It can provide an easy access to those living in remote areas.
• Disease surveillance and program tracking
• Using telemedicine in peripheral health set-ups can significantly reduce the time and costs of patient transportation
• Immediate access to those in need
• Telementored procedures-surgery using hand robots

As with any digital transformation, customer experience should be the central consideration. Avaya/IDC research states that 85% of Indian enterprises feel that the digital transformation initiatives are ensuring better customer service.

So as proud Indians wave their flag for independence day, they can also be hopeful of the country’s economic future.