Asia beating global peers in digital engagement: Deloitte

Asia is winning the race on innovation, growth and connectivity and the region's economies including India are more digitally engaged relative to their global peers at similar stages of development, says a report.
According to Deloitte's second edition of 'Voice of Asia' series, Asia has become the centre of global economic growth and by embracing digital, it will continue to lead global economic growth over the coming decade.
"Two elements have contributed to the success of Asia's economies over recent decades. First, the opening of the traded goods sectors to external market forces and, second, encouraging the adoption of cutting edge technology wherever possible," said Frank Farrall, Asia-Pacific lead partner for Deloitte Digital.

The Deloitte digital engagement index scores each country's Networked Readiness Index against GDP per capita, showing that every country in Asia apart from Myanmar has above average levels of digital engagement for the level of their economic development.
Singapore and Hong Kong are world leaders, while the large population bases in countries such as India, China, Indonesia and Vietnam have considerable opportunities for the future, the report said.
"Looking at the Indian landscape, while we have made good progress...We are still at the beginning stages of attaining digital maturity," Deloitte India Lead Economist Anis Chakravarty said.

Chakravarty further said that "with recent impetus from government and support from the private sector, India is leading the way in how digital developments can enable consumers, businesses and governments to do things differently and, often, more efficiently".

For business, digital can encourage trade in the region by helping businesses, particularly small businesses, access global markets.
Meanwhile, digital government initiatives can also help to improve efficiency, transparency and inclusiveness of government.
Countries like Singapore and South Korea are global leaders while the Indian policy makers have also unveiled a list of 100 cities that will go through transformation, the report said.
"The government in India is taking a proactive role by creating the requisite policy framework and incentives for digitisation to succeed.
"Given the size and nature of the economy, how exactly this translates into growth taking into account the level of financial inclusion will depend on a myriad of factors such as the country's approach to innovation and adoption rates," Chakravarty added.