On May 11, 2022, National Technology Day will commemorate Indian contributions to science and technology. This day is a reminder of India’s entry into the exclusive group of nuclear-armed states. Under Operation Shakti, India successfully conducted nuclear tests on May 11, 1998, at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. It was led by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the then Secretary of the Defence Research and Development Organisation. In 1999, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee celebrated the inaugural National Technology Day on May 11.
National Technology Day 2022 dates back to 1999 when then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced May 11 as a day of national significance. On this day, the Technology Development Board has been honouring scientists and engineers for their technical breakthroughs contributing to India’s progress.
Modern India has emphasised science and technology, realising that it is one of the essential features of economic development. India is one of the top five countries globally in terms of scientific research and one of the top five countries in space exploration.
Several technical company incubators have cropped up in the twenty-first century to nurture fledgling ideas and connect ideation to commercialisation. Virtually every sector has been affected by technology, and it has become a vital choice for firms seeking to preserve a competitive advantage. Remote administration of all elements of the company has been easier with the development of technology with which we can all keep in touch.
Here are quotes from 35 contributors to India’s road to establishing technological prowess across the globe.
“Technology has always helped us make this world a better place to live, and the Next era of revolution will be driven by Deep Tech (Drones, AI, blockchain, & IoT). Drones will save & improve lives by giving access to better healthcare, e-commerce, security & surveillance.” – Mr. Vikram Singh, TechEagle
“Sustainability has traditionally been a science game, especially in the environment space. With scientists researching the impact of human activities on the environment, all debates relating to sustainability have been based on Science. The science-based approach is also currently used to achieve COP 26 global net-zero targets. While Science has an important role in understanding the issues, technology has recently emerged as an effective solution provider. Today, technology has the potential to be the game-changer in the Sustainability journey. Over the last five years, the advent of technology to address sustainability issues has increased focus on sustainability, driving more funds and the ability to scale solutions faster”. – Radhica Kanniganti, Devic Earth
“Technology can enhance our lives, coming up with new concepts and devices. New forms of learning make it possible for children to experience innovation and technology first-hand. The future demands an army of creative geniuses proficient in technology, and STEM-based learning can enable children to become innovators of tomorrow.” – Mrs Deepti Sharma, ThinkerPlace
“Technology has redefined almost every product, service and experience today. It is also the backbone that enables sustainable solutions like shared mobility using EVs. Yulu, Battery as a Service (BaaS) company, continuously leverages the power of technology to build customised solutions for India and factor in its infrastructure, road conditions, weather, and the preference of Indian consumers. Operating at this scale is made possible by integrated systems that continuously communicate with each other to create a connected network of vehicles, batteries, charging stations and users. Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced data processing methodologies and analyses are used to run smooth operations, predict demand and optimise the availability of swappable batteries and bikes to provide a seamless service to daily commuters and delivery workers.” – Mr Naveen Dachuri, Yulu
“If we have to see the impact of technology in today’s business, on a broad basis, we can say that there are two types of businesses, either a technology business or technology-enabled business. How one is developing or using technology to create value for consumers is the key to success. Technology has also democratised the ecosystem to help start-ups achieve and develop so many new use cases and challenge the established players.” – Mr. Sandeep Lodha, Netweb Technologies
“In a country like India, there is a lot of demand on infrastructure and resources when it comes to development. In the past years, urban areas have expanded rapidly and haphazardly. Now that the adverse impacts of global warming are being felt, the need to reverse and reduce environmental damage is also emerging. One of the key technology integrations in this arena happens to be the development of Smart Cities. The future lies in building these self-sustaining communities which can reduce resource consumption and pollution alongside efficient management of all activities. For instance, Smart Cities are envisaged to use video AI, big data analytics, and IoT-based tools to monitor and manage transportation, utility management, surveillance, and pre-emptive security landscape. Through such integration of Science and technology to foster sustainability, the vision of a socio-economically stronger Digital India will be realised in the years ahead.” – Mr. Rahul Bhardwaj, Graymatics
“The pandemic highlighted how technology must play an even larger role in ensuring high-quality healthcare support to the masses. From the conventional practice of the patients going to hospitals for treatment, modern technologies have enabled robust remote and doorstep care delivery. This new model of care is revolutionising the sector and making it a lot more sustainable. Today, we are using the most cutting-edge tools and processes to optimise healthcare outcomes alongside devising ways to reduce medical waste, which is aversed to environmental wellness. Portea Medical believes that innovation and evolution of health-tech will further make it possible to enhance the sustainability of healthcare operations globally.” – Mr. Vaibhav Tewari, Portea Medical
“The logistics and transportation sector is witnessing a massive shift in operations. The need for sustainability and efficiency has necessitated fundamental changes in procedures. While electric vehicles tackle pollution and sustainability, cloud-based transportation platforms and marketplaces will transform the operational side of logistics. Vahak has built a tech-based robust market in the form of a smartphone and web app that truckers, shippers, and manufacturers from all over India can find loads & lorries for their business.” – Mr. Karan Shaha, Vahak
“India is increasingly becoming the technology backbone of the world. Once the leader in developing software for the world, India is now innovating in multiple areas. For instance, autonomous driving, electric vehicles, space technology, and Web 3. These new technologies are bound to create a more sustainable and green future. Technology has enabled knowledge among the people that have led to the country’s progress. The wide technology innovations would eventually lead us to tackle the growing challenges in energy, transportation, environment conservation etc. The rapid growth of inclusive technology is always inspiring and empowering the citizens of India.” – Bharat Gupta, FunctionUp
“Legacy industries in India, like construction, are removing traditional barriers between stakeholders and connecting data silos thanks to technology. This approach transforms the industry’s ability to deliver projects reliably and within costs. It is an opportune time to leverage advanced construction technology as India invests in infrastructure development to grow the economy in an uncertain global environment.” – Kalyan Vaidyanathan, Bentley Systems
“With 75% of the product development team being from India, it places India at the forefront of the company’s most important decisions and innovations. Digital Transformation: “India has been steadily progressing toward achieving the full potential of digital transformation. Across markets and verticals, speed-to-value driven by digital transformation is becoming the order of the day. The COVID 19 pandemic was a rude awakening for businesses worldwide, with technology and digital transformation taking centerstage as a roadblock-rather became the saviour. The pandemic also became a huge boost or accelerator for businesses, including Conga. And this will continue as businesses have started seeing the benefits of and enjoying the fruits of digital transformation.” – Noel Goggin, Conga
“In the 21st century, technology has successfully changed the dynamics of modernity and proved to be a boon in every life segment. Therefore it is great that we have a day dedicated to honouring our reliance on technology.
Though many efforts have gone into bridging gaps in technology, there will constantly be emerging gaps needed to be filled. Many seniors embrace new technology, but a lack of familiarity with tech terminology and physical challenges makes it difficult for seniors to adopt specific tech-savvy devices like smartphones. Being an innovator in the senior-tech space, I firmly believe there is a need for meaningful participation in technology by older persons. There is a strong need to identify technologies with an integrated approach that supports ageing.” – MP Deepu, SeniorWorld
“If digitisation helped several companies stay afloat during the pandemic, the digital transformation would play a vital role in the post-pandemic era towards a sustainable future. With more enterprises embracing hyper-automation technologies such as AI/ML, RPA, Analytics, IoT, etc., the possibilities for innovation and offerings that redefine industries are limitless.” – Narendran Thillaisthanam, Vuram
“On national technology day, We must remind ourselves of the saying of Steve jobs. “It’s not a faith in technology, it’s faith in people”. The best technologies always have ingredients of empowering people and bringing them together both as the creator and user of the technology. As humans, we shouldn’t forget it.” – Sidharth Kulbhaskar, Myla.in
“Brands have been sharpening their expertise in cutting-edge technology as it has altered our lives, from the evolution of voice assistants to the introduction of smart products. The technological era has charged an exhilarating stage in the smart product market, delivering consumers with unique and improved smart home technologies leaning towards an interconnected, easy-to-control habitat. Lifestyle patterns are constantly shifting due to external forces and consumer patterns fuelled by the rapid growth and adoption of innovative technology. Hence, brands today are offering products basis evolving necessities and are prioritising incorporating technology for a sustainable environment. At Syska, we focus on delivering technology-led products that conserve energy and are sustainable. As we celebrate National Technology Day on 11th May, we believe there is a need to celebrate the innovative technology that focuses on making conscious products for future living.” – Mr. Rajesh Uttamchandani, Syska Group
“In the recent years, technology has played a huge role in the country’s development and advancing its infrastructure. With the increase in urbanisation, cities face a crunch in every aspect, especially the rising congestion on roads disrupting the free flow of traffic. With advancements in technology and smart parking solutions, this issue can be handled well. The integration of Information Communications Technology (ICT) solutions and the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and data have greatly improved the overall efficiency of the Indian parking industry. Today, we can eliminate the need to drive around in circles endlessly searching for a parking space, ensuring that we drivers save time while contributing to reducing emissions. On this National Technology Day, we would like to extend our appreciation to the efforts of the Government in this endeavour while committing to creating better tech-enabled solutions for the future of this country.” – Rajesh Kabra, RR Parkon
“Within the logistics sector, traditional digitisation efforts have lasted several decades. However, most of these technologies are now obsolete or based on on-premise solutions. Cloud computing has revolutionised numerous businesses, including logistics. Software as a Service, or SaaS, has become a winning business model for new high-growth technology companies. Customers and technology suppliers both profit from this. Customers benefit from a product that is constantly upgraded, and it lowers the bar for technology providers to produce better outcomes.
Working in the SaaS space, I have seen that this model significantly reduces software costs. In addition, once a piece of software is produced and deployed in the cloud, it requires very little upkeep. When the software was installed on-premise, a specialised support team was necessary, and each deployment required many servers to manage. There is only one deployment using SaaS, and it is delivered over the cloud. It translates in gross margins of 85 per cent on average, which is an excellent standard.” – Dhruvil Sanghvi, LogiNext
“In the pandemic, healthcare became extremely challenging, and then technology came to the front foot to simplify things. We have observed the rise of health-tech start-ups globally; online medical services like doctor consultations, lab testing, pharmacy, etc., spiked by 500% during the lockdown. Technology plays a vital role in offering convenience to patients and doctors and streamlining emergency management.
With the help of technology, healthcare has become more affordable, accessible, and convenient.” – Gaurav Dubey, Livlong
“Throughout the pandemic, the Indian technology industry was instrumental in enabling both the global and Indian end-user to keep the lights on. We helped end-users live and work online and transform businesses into digital enterprises. In India, Aerospike and other leading technology companies are continuing to help by finding solutions for supply chain issues, online fraud, and increasing shopping cart size.” – Aveekshith Bushan, Aerospike
“Technology has helped humankind solve many problems. Now, it’s time to use the same technology for the happiness and efficiency of employees and staff members. Automating teamwork and employee performance tracking will help keep the motivation levels high.” – Sonaal Dua, TrackHR
“In today’s digital age, technology is driving human progress, and the driving force behind technological growth comes with introducing disruptive ideas. Dell Technologies continues to be one of the global leaders in producing server tech, and India has a significant role to play in this. Our Bengaluru R&D centre has been instrumental in bringing about cutting-edge technology in the service portfolio.” – Sudha KV, Dell Technologies
“The world has witnessed tremendous technological improvement in the last decade. Today’s technology is robust and increasingly transformative, with a substantial impact on mobility, healthcare, manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, etc. Most businesses are navigating their digital transformation journey and are investing in Innovation and R&D to deliver compelling products and services, keeping the User-Experience in mind. With emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Digitization and Software-defined products combined with Electronification, every domain is helping to improve the quality of life of people across the world, creating newer business models to generate recurring revenue and strive for better operational efficiencies.
Today, as India observes National Technology Day, it is essential that we acknowledge how technology is aiding in providing innovative and sophisticated business offerings. At Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW), we expect an increased penetration of Cloud computing, Big data, AIoT, Robotics and Edge computing in every domain we are working in.” – RK Shenoy, Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW)
“The future is much larger and scarier than it has ever looked in the past. Smart companies would use technology as an intelligent platform for all stakeholders to seamlessly collaborate, paving the way for related business. Omni-channel experiences will continue to evolve to let consumers enjoy a seamless shopping experience – both offline and online. Gofrugal will continue to make technology easy, intuitive, and affordable to help businesses, agnostic of size and style, to stay competitive.” – Mr. Kumar Vembu, GOFRUGAL
“Digital technologies have the potential to revolutionise and reinvent how everyone does business in an increasingly connected world. In recent years, organisations have seen a rapid increase in the adoption of digital services due to hybrid work models, growing data security concerns, and overall business disruptions. As per Veeam’s Data Protection Trends Report 2022, 84 per cent of Indian organisations experienced ransomware attacks, making cyber-attacks one of the leading causes of downtime for organisations for the second year in a row.” The growing importance of digital services, data proliferation, and the ever-changing threat landscape have resulted in an increase in cyber-attacks (ransomware), making it critical for businesses to ensure that their organisation’s data is always secure. As a result, organisations are now considering aligning with a data protection framework that provides a dependable strategy when normal operations are disrupted.” – Sandeep Bhambure, Veeam Software
“The average time spent on the mobile phone is 4.7 hours; on social media, 2.5 hours. Every content we watch is being tracked; AI maps our preferences. People spend more time with gadgets than family members or friends.
The bills at major shopping malls and stores get generated against the mobile number. The bank accounts, PAN, Aadhar, and mobile numbers are all linked. Most of your spending is tracked. Artificial Intelligence-enabled Technology is so deeply entrenched in the human ecosystem. Privacy in today’s time is a myth.” – Mr. Tanwir Alam, Fincart
“In the current era, technology has become something to cherish about. Be it the advances in medical sciences where once impossible treatments are now done in just a few hours, or people working together while sitting in different parts of the world. Technology has reached all aspects of our lives while helping us to lead our daily lives with much ease, allowing us to invest our time in doing smart work instead of mundane tasks. And it’s enthralling to see the entire nation celebrating this wave of technology and more tech-based companies getting launched, creating more jobs and contributing to the economy”. – Sarvagya Mishra, SuperBot
“Technology, especially Medical Technology, has had one of the biggest impacts on human civilisation in the recent years. MedTech is a constant companion from when we are an embryo till the time we die and enhances our life through every phase. This National Technology Day, we celebrate technology and its leaders as we make this a better and healthier place to live.” – A. Vijayarajan, InnAccel Technologies.
“It is essential in today’s times to invest in technology. Technology can become a game-changer for entrepreneurs. It improves productivity, and as far as entrepreneurs are concerned, it helps them save time and money. Some examples of technological advancements are – online accounting tools, website builders, SEO tools, cloud-based solutions, and much more. The prospects that technology presents daily show businesses that they can achieve more and, in the process, make more money, plus have more time to focus on other areas in their lives.
If entrepreneurs are technologically equipped, it helps their businesses attract investors who will extend funds. And, for a start-up founder, it is top-of-mind to get funds and stabilise the financial situation. Raising finance is probably one of the most challenging and tedious tasks for any entrepreneur. And this process involves time, intelligence, and creativity, and, in the long run, it does edge in a stroke of luck.” – Jeetesh Vaishya, Buzzmore Media Pvt. Ltd
“I believe that technology is the only lever that can solve the toughest problems and creates a deep impact on humanity. It’s surprising that the world over, ~75% of small businesses do not get access to formal credit, leading to a $5Tn gap in this market. Dygnify uses blockchain technology to solve this serious problem. We’re building a DeFi protocol for SMBs to access safe, KYC’ed global liquidity in an immutable, transparent and cost-effective manner. Start-up incubators like WE Hub play a vital role in helping and developing start-ups to grow in the tech space.” – Surabhi Nigam, Dygnify Ventures
“Technology is interwoven into our daily functioning, and it has radically revolutionised how we live. With Qandle, we have used modern technologies, including AI/ML. Now, our solutions can completely take over the mundane HR tasks of organisations and leave space for HRs to pursue more strategic roles. This National Technology Day, we want to encourage every techie to buckle up and continue learning more advanced technologies as they will change tomorrow’s face. We should aim to be at the forefront of this revolution.” – Mr. Himanshu Aggarwal, Qandle
“While the pandemic has been extraordinarily disruptive to food businesses, there are some silver linings that have emerged from the chaos. As the outbreak expanded, food and beverage companies re-evaluated their supply chains and business strategies to become more resilient. They have understood the importance of technology and automation more than ever. With the increasing demand for delivery meals, concepts like ghost kitchens are helping operators scale the business without the overhead costs of dining space or front-of-house staff. In casual dining and QSR, contactless and QR ordering have become ubiquitous.” – Mr. Harshit Mittal, SupplyNote
“Technology is vital for a country’s development. We must leverage technology not just for economic growth but also for social transformation.
My thoughts on the current theme, “integrated approach in science & technology for a sustainable future”, would be that sustainability is an essential priority for all companies. There is a lot of pressure to transform companies’ supply chain to a sustainable end state, and technology is available to change that. Sustainable processes enabled by AI, blockchain and Analytics can help industries navigate this transformational journey.
Let us recognise India’s footstep to open a whole new world for us and widen our perspective on technology.” – Sivagopal M, MSRcosmos
Delivering sustainable business operations is a huge focus area for several enterprises. Unstructured content and workflows are responsible for rising costs within enterprise business processes. Close to 80% of enterprise business processes have reliance on unstructured content, and the volume, variety and velocity of such content are only rising. Enterprises are keenly focusing on centralising their functions, enabling paperless transactions and automating them to deliver sustainable business operations bringing down costs and improving governance.
Avaali has enabled the automation of enterprise business operations with our products and services by automating the lifecycle of unstructured content and workflows. Our shared service automation initiatives have delivered significant cost reductions for over 170+ global large enterprises.” – Srividya Kannan, Avaali Solutions Pvt Ltd.
“For a long time, new entrants have found it difficult to enter the market. But not anymore! Financial disruptors are taking over the industry with new technology and fast-paced methods to make finance an easier stick to handle. Start-ups are flocking the market with innovations that are not only profitable and scalable but also altering the traditional methods. Financial technology is revamping the finance industry as well as other business verticals by significant numbers. The threat to security, along with the need to bridge the gap between the general population and the real-time access to their money has brought up a dire need to add technological innovations into the traditional financial processes to improve the status quo and deliver better services to the end-users.” – Mr. Ram Shriram, Mahagram
“Organisations have always wanted to transform to create business differentiation. While the pandemic made it urgent for enterprises to embrace digital, now they are striving to accelerate their digital initiatives to stay competitive. With digital acceleration, enterprises across industries can automate their end-to-end processes while enhancing customer experience, operational excellence, and business innovation. The secret sauce to accelerating digital lies in “Hyperautomation.” Every organisation much enable enterprise-wide Hyperautomation and run multiple programs in a coordinated manner to achieve holistic transformation while ensuring compliance, security, and governance.” – Ritesh Varma, Newgen Software
Technology is a great leveller and a great enabler. It has democratised the process of building and has made our lives easier, faster, better, and more fun. It is at the forefront of every sector, be it healthtech, fintech, edtech, insurtech etc. Technology has changed the way we live, communicate, travel, eat, pay bills, transfer money, entertain ourselves and much more. The future is exciting with drones, driverless cars, medical alert systems and many more innovations becoming part of our daily lives. Rather than being overwhelmed by the impact of technology, we should embrace it to discover how it can enhance the entire ecosystem. At Insurance Samadhan, we are using technology
for a noble cause, and that’s how it should be used. – Ravi Mathur, Insurance Samadhan
