Technology, digitisation, and modernization to pull India to a $3 trillion economy: Deval Seth

Budget 2019 under the regime of Modi 2.0 is a promising agenda bracing some of the key economic challenges while accelerating the growth path for the economy. Building India into a $3 trillion economy this year may seem ambitious but is still not a farfetched dream with the kind of results India has shown on the economic front in the recent years. Technology, digitisation, and modernization will have a great role in pulling up India to a $3 trillion economy this year. For instance, as more devices get connected, the market for eSIMs is set to explode in India in areas such as connected cars, manufacturing and consumer durables. The government’s move to lower the GST rate on electric vehicles(EV) from 12% to 5% and to make EVs affordable for consumers with additional income tax deduction will bring connectivity to the vehicles and G&D sees India strongly moving forward on the eSim journey which has been adopted globally.

On the digitisation front, the National Common Mobility Card launched by PM Modi in March and the levying TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding 1 cr are critical initiatives which will help bring a behavioral shift among people and will go a long way in fostering the digitisation agenda.

G&D strongly believes India is at an inflection point and when we are talking about growth, we are talking connectivity and technology, however the budget did not showcase enough of key sectors like telecom and technologies like 5G. While the government showed interest in emerging technologies like AI, robotics and big data, we need to understand that India will need 5G to harness the full potential of the latter. Having said that we are very confident that the government will speed up the ground work in embracing 5G.

- Deval Seth, Managing Director, Giesecke & Devrient