New tech may add a trillion dollars to GDP by 2025: Study

The widespread use of new technologies in India, from mobile internet to cloud computing to genomics (a branch of biotechnology), could add $550 billion to a trillion dollars a year by 2025, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).

MGI assessed more than 100 technologies and narrowed on 12 that could have a "profound impact on growth and social progress" in India. These technologies could account for 20-30 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth between 2012 and 2025 and help millions achieve a better life, said the report.

The list includes digital payments, verifiable digital identity, Internet of things (where objects have network connectivity), intelligent transport and distribution systems, advanced geographic information systems (GIS), renewable energy and advanced energy storage. (12 TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN EMPOWER INDIA IN THE NEXT DECADE)

Noting several of these technologies were in the Narendra Modi government's Digital India project, Noshir Kaka, managing director of McKinsey & Company in India, said the plan was the biggest opportunity for India in 10 years. But it came with challenges, he said.

"The impact of the 12 technologies in 2025 could be up to six times the economic value of the Indian information technology sector. These can make up as high a share of the national economy as the manufacturing sector today," said Anu Madgavkar, a senior fellow at MGI.

MGI evaluated more than 40 uses in six sectors to assess the potential impact of the 12 technologies. The sectors are financial services, education and skills, health care, agriculture and food, energy, and infrastructure.

The new technologies could improve banking access as only 40 per cent of Indians have bank accounts now.

"Mobile payments can help 300 million Indians gain access to banking services and could raise their incomes by five to 30 per cent due to better access to credit and the ability to save and make remittances," the report titled, India's technology opportunity: Transforming work, empowering people, said.

India could have 24 million more high school- and college-educated workers and 18 million to 33 million more vocationally trained workers by 2025 due to the use of digital technologies in the education sector.

School performance could be improved through e-administration, digital identity-based attendance systems, and online teacher certification and training.

The report suggests using the Internet of things' tracking systems to curb fake drugs, which could be $15 billion a year. As far as infrastructure is concerned, use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and other tracking technologies can automate terminal and warehouse management, raising efficiency by 50 percent. Using sensors, leakage in water systems can cut by 15 to 20 percent, helping reduce water shortages. Project-management systems and next-generation building technologies (extensive use of factory-made prefabricated parts, for example) can help India deliver ten million affordable homes by 2025, it added.

However, India will need to address both supply-side barriers such as limited broadband infrastructure and demand-side barriers such as a lack of computer literacy and market fragmentation due to multiple languages in order to fully realise the benefits of these technologies.