I picked this book for two reasons:
1. Compelling title as it promised to highlight how AI and IoT solutions can help to solve India's problems
2. Authors - N Chandrasekaran, one of the most admired person in IT industry and Roopa Purushothaman, chief economist of Tata Group. So, I knew, it will be a sensible book and credentials can be taken seriously
And trust me, this book didn't disappoint me. It follows a structured approach- digging a bit deep into the fundamental problems of Indian society and economy and taking a shot at few technology aided solutions, laying the basic foundation of bridgital model and leaving it open for young entrepreneurial minds to think of solutions that can bridge the identified gaps in noted areas of healthcare, educational services, legal processes, micro financial services, agriculture to name a few. The real life stories quoted in the book are engaging. The language used in the book is kept simple to be understood by common man that one doesn't need a background in economics or technology.
The book highlights India's twin challenges : Jobs and Access.There seems to a huge demand of vital services and an equally overwhelming supply of human capital. The aim is to bridge the gap between them.The authors rightly point out that India's growth model needs to be different from other countries. Unlike, most of the countries, growth is followed by creation of new jobs, this model doesn't seem to work in India. This is because the growth is coming from mainly service sectors, wherein highly qualified people work and less from manufacturing jobs. Another piece of the puzzle is working women. Only 23 per cent of all women who could work are employed as opposed to 75 per cent in men. Surprisingly, it isn't that women do not want to work. But due to priorities hard wired in our culture and mindsets, the number is getting lower year on year. Another problem is the existence of numerous jobs are in the informal sector, which fail to raise the standards of living and provide social security.
With the bridgital nation approach, authors see a potential shift of 45 million workers from informal sector to the formal sector via SMEs. But what is bridgital approach? It is simple: re-examine and re-invent the tasks that goes into a job. For example, the administrative tasks that doctors and nurses have to do themselves in govt. hospitals esp. in tier 3 cities. Due to lack of skilled people availability, often doctors / nurses spend more time in doing admin tasks and hence have less time to spend with patients. With the help of technology, data and connectivity, solutions can be devised that prepare and empower the new workforce to perform these tasks that were thought to be beyond their skill sets.
The solutions advocated in the book are simple and fundamental ones. It challenges young entrepreneurs to go beyond the conventional processes and re-imagine it with technology for every possible sector. The book completely discard the much popular debate on- technology (automation) vs jobs. Rather, it focuses on using advanced technologies like AI and IoT to create more accessible jobs for new bridgital workers and bridge in the ultimate gap that's possibly stopping India to grow into an economically strong nation.
In my view, this book gives a hope that it is possible to achieve 'sabka vikaas via sabka saath'.
1. Compelling title as it promised to highlight how AI and IoT solutions can help to solve India's problems
2. Authors - N Chandrasekaran, one of the most admired person in IT industry and Roopa Purushothaman, chief economist of Tata Group. So, I knew, it will be a sensible book and credentials can be taken seriously
And trust me, this book didn't disappoint me. It follows a structured approach- digging a bit deep into the fundamental problems of Indian society and economy and taking a shot at few technology aided solutions, laying the basic foundation of bridgital model and leaving it open for young entrepreneurial minds to think of solutions that can bridge the identified gaps in noted areas of healthcare, educational services, legal processes, micro financial services, agriculture to name a few. The real life stories quoted in the book are engaging. The language used in the book is kept simple to be understood by common man that one doesn't need a background in economics or technology.
The book highlights India's twin challenges : Jobs and Access.There seems to a huge demand of vital services and an equally overwhelming supply of human capital. The aim is to bridge the gap between them.The authors rightly point out that India's growth model needs to be different from other countries. Unlike, most of the countries, growth is followed by creation of new jobs, this model doesn't seem to work in India. This is because the growth is coming from mainly service sectors, wherein highly qualified people work and less from manufacturing jobs. Another piece of the puzzle is working women. Only 23 per cent of all women who could work are employed as opposed to 75 per cent in men. Surprisingly, it isn't that women do not want to work. But due to priorities hard wired in our culture and mindsets, the number is getting lower year on year. Another problem is the existence of numerous jobs are in the informal sector, which fail to raise the standards of living and provide social security.
With the bridgital nation approach, authors see a potential shift of 45 million workers from informal sector to the formal sector via SMEs. But what is bridgital approach? It is simple: re-examine and re-invent the tasks that goes into a job. For example, the administrative tasks that doctors and nurses have to do themselves in govt. hospitals esp. in tier 3 cities. Due to lack of skilled people availability, often doctors / nurses spend more time in doing admin tasks and hence have less time to spend with patients. With the help of technology, data and connectivity, solutions can be devised that prepare and empower the new workforce to perform these tasks that were thought to be beyond their skill sets.
The solutions advocated in the book are simple and fundamental ones. It challenges young entrepreneurs to go beyond the conventional processes and re-imagine it with technology for every possible sector. The book completely discard the much popular debate on- technology (automation) vs jobs. Rather, it focuses on using advanced technologies like AI and IoT to create more accessible jobs for new bridgital workers and bridge in the ultimate gap that's possibly stopping India to grow into an economically strong nation.
In my view, this book gives a hope that it is possible to achieve 'sabka vikaas via sabka saath'.
