Digital Tech Is a Great Leveler and Democratizer: Mukesh Ambani

The world is going to be transformed by the ‘Digital First’ Revolution, with almost every activity in the physical world can now be digitized, or be digitally enabled, enriched and transformed, said Mukesh Ambani, CMD, Reliance Industries Limited.

Speaking at the InFinity Forum, Mukesh Ambani, CMD, Reliance Industries Limited said that with digital growing at such an exponential pace, the physical world will become subordinate to the digital world.

He explained with examples, “Today, whatever product or service we desire is being first imagined and designed in the digital space, and then created in the physical space…Whether you are building an airport or a township, whether you are manufacturing a car or something in consumer electronics, it is today possible to design it end-to-end first in the digital space, test it as per all possible parameters, and then translate it into reality.”

What it achieves in terms of project execution is unprecedented velocity, quality, reliability, efficiency, customization, and customer satisfaction, said the RIL Chairman.

“There will also be drastic cost reduction and drastic reduction in waste resource opportunity in the coming years. And reduction in resource wastage is especially important because it will mean care for the planet,” he said, emphasizing that the transition to energy saving, de-carbonization and clean and green energy is happening at an astonishing pace.

According to him, the coming digital first revolution is going to make our world — and make India — more inclusively prosperous than we can now imagine. “I can say with absolute confidence that the digital first world will be a more equal world, without the traditional and unacceptable disparities and deprivations we see in our societies at present,” he mentioned.

Ambani refers to data as the ‘new oil’, which he believes is fundamentally different in the digital-first world as it has been completely democratized and decentralized. He also sees big wins for India when it comes to data in its large population and a ‘world-class’ digital pipeline.

Referring to how Jio has led the digital-first revolution with affordable high-speed data connectivity, he said, “Today, our entire country is fully transitioning from the 2G era to the 4G era. We are in the process of creating an equally affordable ecosystem of devices to enable greater adoption, supported by faster roll out of optic fiber, cloud, and data center infrastructure.

The next step will be connectivity of machines, devices and vehicles, which is the Internet of Things or IoT. This will involve many components like different kinds of sensors, smart devices, edge computing, cloud computing and AI, according to Ambani.

“With 5G roll out next year in India, we are well on our way to have one of the most advanced infrastructures in the world,” he said.

As these underlying technologies mature, we will be able to reinvent all sectors of our economy digitally – whether it is financial services, commerce, manufacturing, agriculture, education or healthcare. Most importantly, the grassroots sectors such as agriculture, education and healthcare will transform to become more efficient, more affordable and more accessible to all Indians, thanks to the digital technologies.

The billionaire businessman said, India is now ready to transform itself into a leading Digital Society, after developing two critical prerequisites: digital infrastructure and a regulatory framework.

“India’s young and super-talented entrepreneurs are now ready to fly. I believe, we can achieve much faster economic growth, progress and prosperity for all our people and contribute to the rest of the world,” summed up Ambani.