Letter to BS: Cheap data presents huge opportunity for India's economy

Neelkanth Mishra’s article “Cheap data driving profound changes” (June 6) is absolutely fascinating. It is mind boggling to see how cheap data can facilitate addition of as much as 1.5 per cent to the national GDP growth of our country. Of course, actual results will depend on “human ingenuity and Indian entrepreneurism” but the author’s detailed explanation of the manner it can happen make eminent sense.

We have all known that the cost of data on Indian mobile networks has come down considerably but perhaps no one would have imagined that as a proportion of per capita income, it has “gone from being the most expensive globally two years ago to being the cheapest”. That the drop is an unprecedented 95 per cent is revealing. No wonder there is fierce competition among the leading players in the domain. The projected increase of over 350 million data/video capable phones in just four years presents a huge opportunity for handset makers — domestic and foreign. 

That cheap data could actually make our supply chains much more efficient and our motor vehicle assets more productive are indeed wonderful possibilities. Surely, a cause for cheer in the otherwise bleak scenario.

Krishan Kalra 
Gurugram