Transforming India Through Technology – session with Bill Gates
Loading ...
Microsoft, Windows and Bill Gates are actually synonymous. When we think computers, the first word that comes to mind is any of these three, and not necessarily in that order. So, one can well imagine how things were going to be, when NASSCOM hosted the great man on a hot Friday afternoon on 24th July at Taj Palace. In spite of our best efforts, last minutes registrations were unavoidable and the enthusiasm exhibited by the executives, trying to catch a glimpse of the iconic figure, was nothing short of electrifying.
Som Mittal:
Mr Som Mittal, welcomed the legend and thanked him for taking time out from his packed schedule and addressing at the NASSCOM seminar. He said, it was always a great opportunity for the Chambers of Commerce to interact with the great visionary and gain an insight on how the world will shape up in the times to come by. Mr Mittal also welcomed Shri Sachin Pilot, the Minister of State, in the Ministry of Communications and Technology and also heaped praises for taking proactive steps, in recent times and furthering the cause. The enthusiasm and vision exhibited by the youngest member of the parliament was truly exemplary, he said. Incidentally, 24th July 2009 was also the 50th session of Friday’s 2.0, a platform for Emerging Companies to come and share their best practices. As Mr Mittal welcomed the other distinguished guests and CEOs, he explained to Mr Bill Gates that Friday’s 2.0 was not really a “software version” but quite simply a nomenclature to create effective branding. The great man nodded rather appreciably. Mr Mittal went on to address on the country’s GDP growth rate, which was hovering at around 5.5 – 6 % and how IT was contributing to it. He also stressed on the IT mandate, as well as the expectations of the masses towards penetration of IT. In his words, the growth witnessed so far was disparate and if the country truly aspired to be a global leader then inclusivity of growth was imperative. After all, when we talk of 50% of the population, not having access to basic healthcare and about 80 % not having bank accounts, then the numbers which add up are simply staggering. Needless to say, this also presents a huge opportunity for the domestic market. As Mr Mittal welcomed Shri Sachin Pilot to take the stage, he also requested him to talk about the Public Distribution System and how it can be made more effective to reach out to the common man.
Sachin Pilot:
Welcome Mr Gates to the NASSCOM programme on “Transforming India through Technology”, the rich cultured voice was unmistakable. India that we live in, is a microcosm of the digital divide, between the rich and the poor, the urban and rural, he added. As a nation, we have arrived at the crossroads, where It was important for participative effort to translate technology, into meaningful concepts which were easily understood by the masses. Remaining elitist, was no more a matter of choice, which may have been the story so far. There was an overpowering need to translate technology, so as to proliferate rural India. Shri Pilot said, that rural India resides in 648,000 villages, and two thirds of the teeming population depend on farming and agriculture as primary source of livelihood. As an aspiring superpower, can we afford to be negligent to their needs as well? Though the exports and domestic figure for IT Services, being pegged at 49 BN USD & 12.5 BN USD respectively provided a healthy outlook, it was important to grab this opportunity by riding on the success and bridging the divide. He talked about some of the plans, both at state and federal level, for those whose lives have still not been touched. There was a lot of discussion on 3 G connectivity, but how do we use this to reach out to the teeming millions. A country which adds 400 million mobile connections annually needs to also think about how technology can be pushed to areas like agriculture and make a difference to many lives. We have obviously achieved quite a bit since we started, having connected the panchayats from 15 % to present levels of 40% penetration. The urban penetration figure was pegged at 90%. Shri Pilot also said, that he truly appreciated what Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had sought out to achieve and was truly an example for others to follow. Such initiatives were the real drivers in creating that positioning in people’s minds. He also heartily congratulated the legend on winning the Indira Gandhi prize for Peace & Disarmament. On a lighter vein, he added that he had spoken enough and it was now time for us to listen to the great man. Before he handed over to Mr Gates, Shri Sachin Pilot reiterated that here is a country which boasts of a rich 5000 year history, being expressed in 22 languages and represented by 40 major political parties. It was upto all of us, to shape the future and make it a leader amongst all nations. Over to Mr Bill Gates, Sir.
Bill Gates:
Time stood still. The moment had arrived. The whirring cameras of the media persons, the only sound audible. Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, happy to be here – the unmistakable nasal overtone, drew thunderous applause. He went on to address how the Foundation was started a year back and was presently focusing on education and healthcare. How IT was being deployed to make a difference in people’s lives. Microsoft, Mr Gates added, has always been an organization displaying patience and optimism, which was also the hallmark of the Foundation. This was the 5th year of the Microsoft Research Centre in India which had contributed immensely to breakthrough technology, having impacted many of the product lines. He was very impressed with the eco system in India which supported breakthrough research with contributions from the engineers, researchers and PHDs being produced by educational institutions, which were truly of global standards.
The visionary that he is, tickled our imagination by talking about the future of the cell phone. This device, in his opinion, could be an all pervading on, which will simply revolutionize the very way we interface with the computer. He talked about a possible software which will create a natural user interface, which will read out all possible information about a person, coming near the vicinity of the device. Vision, speech and handwriting were some of the new frontiers which would be covered in future, so as to use these interfaces as natural connect with the device. He talked about video games and how in future, these games could actually be played by making gestures, without the aid of a control device. He warned, that though it sounds frivolous, but our lives were bound to change in a significant way. Software will also be built around voluminous business data, so as to make office applications far more powerful than what is existent today. The power of hardware, processing and storage devices would increase exponentially, opening up a whole new world.
Mr Gates also talked about Cloud Computing and how the Internet was like one big computer, capable of immense power in the area of simulation and graphics. He addressed on the importance of powerful processors and the ability to connect networks and libraries, to create a repository of knowledge and information. With enhanced connectivity, there was an overpowering need to maintain security, privacy and correctness of information shared. As computers play and ever increasing role in the Healthcare sector, Digital records needed to be maintained with that much more efficiency.
In his words, recession was a very big deal, but even then, there was no significant “pull back” on the part of Research Universities and organizations which take a long term view of things. He talked about the “ambitious” National Identity Project, being led by Nandan Nilekani and how it had the potential to make a significant difference to society as a whole. The man chosen for the job was quite simply the best. The sheer complexity and volume of application involved in this project was mind boggling and had the potential to spur growth in the domestic market quite substantially. Both Education and the Healthcare sector, would benefit, once this project was underway, he said.
Just as we talk about the power of technology, it is also quite easy to go wrong and focus on innovation which is not practical. The funny little device – the cell phone is a very tempting device and unless we are disciplined enough, we can easily go wrong. It is very important to concentrate on technology which works and do away with what doesn’t, he said. He went on to talk about his Foundation and how it was meant for the poorest of the poor. 20% of the children born, are from this country, out of which half do not have access to immunization, a similar number do not get proper nutrition and are ravaged by diseases and death. This poses a huge opportunity for the foundation to work upon. Science & Technology should aim towards developing new vaccines, creating a solid database of unique identifications, so as to keep in regular touch with the society at large. At this point in time, there was a strong need to make more investments in healthcare, education and infrastructure. He welcomed the competition within states, each vying for more investments. This competitive spirit was pivotal for growth, he added. He also spoke highly of the two economies – China & India and how they were surging ahead. In the US, he said, the connect between the start ups and the Universities was very strong and he hoped that in this country too, we would eventually witness such a relationship fructifying.
Mr Gates was of the opinion that it was quite possible, to simply double the number of cases who were getting vaccinated and this could all be made possible with the aid of technology. Education, has not changed radically, except perhaps the mode of delivery in some parts of the world. For instance, over the internet, it was now possible to get access to the very best teachers in the world and IITs were a great believer of this model. It was now possible to duplicate the best lectures in the world and share it with those who do not have physical access to it. Another important area was training – training the next generation of engineers, who will lead this change. Some of the areas where Internet would make a big difference in his opinion were – Banking, Healthcare, Vaccination & Genetics. Finally he ended his address by saying that the targets taken up by the Foundation were very ambitious, with a focus on future, but he was optimistic as ever that he would witness a significant change and breakthrough, the next time he was around. This country, should not be pulled back but pushed ahead for advantage, as it truly nurtured talent to make a huge difference. It was now time for Q & A
1. In the next 20 years, India would have the highest working age population in the whole world and with ever increasing aspirational levels, and focus on radical infrastructural changes, how can IT help?
BG:Wireless communication in future would get more economical as shared devices, information kiosks would play a large role in transmitting information. The cell phone would be an infinitely more powerful device than what it is today and pricing would be a lot more attractive, enabling better reach and deeper penetration. E-governance would play a stronger role as land records and other services will be made readily available, coupled with ease of usage. Infrastructural shortcomings will eventually be overcome and not prove be a deterrent to growth. There will be an overpowering need for teachers with greater quality and the ability to motivate students to think differently. In such a competitive scenario, only the good students will do very well, just as is the case in the US. He cited the US example and attributed the country’s success to its strong educational system. He admitted that getting the unions to legitimize the best practices was indeed a difficult problem, but would need to be overcome eventually – by sound economics and market forces. Parents would play an important role in the entire process, as they would eventually demand better quality for their wards.
2 Does Bill Gates ever feel the need to shut his computer, switch off his mobile, lights, ever?
BG:Being a technical person, he was also an avid reader, who read not only about technology and business but on varied subjects. In his own words, he was not a big user of text messaging and marveled at youngsters who simultaneously sent 5 messages or more at a time. This comment instantly drew titters from the crowd as he went on to explain how he completely isolated himself (even email) when he read research articles. He opined that unless we are careful with technology and take a disciplined approach, it has the ability to completely disrupt our lives and put one off track. IT is beneficial and works well for me, he said.
3 Putting to use the knowledge of technology, how does Bill Gates see the Healthcare space shaping up in India?
BG:He said that half the people who were in this space presently, were in the research level for discovering the AIDS vaccine. It was quite impressive. There were several other diseases which were equally life taking and needed immediate attention. It was indeed very very difficult to prevent AIDS by reaching out to the community at large and create that level of trust. He cited the need for community based programs, backed by Business Intelligence, to maintain relevant data. Government would need to play a strong role in further investments and only then can AIDS & HIV be kept at modest levels.
4 Will Healthcare costs come down?
BG:Being the visionary that he is, talked about technology where the cell phone (with a small plug attached) will be used to conduct various tests like Malaria, Anemia, HIV etc. There would also be a microscopic sight which will view the samples and send the test data results to experts. In future, Virtual patient visit to the doctor, will be made possible and with the aid of IT based solutions, doctors can then connect amongst themselves, without having to move out physically. The US Healthcare industry was a 3 Trillion Dollar industry and a robust system was needed to manage it.
5 Access to patient records. How does technology bring in attitudinal change to clinical adoption of record keeping?
BG:He talked about introducing an ID system and how it can help track the number of cases who come for immunization. The Registrars of hospitals and immunization centres will create databases and update the same periodically. These databases will capture all relevant details – as to why / when did the patient not show up. A map will give the grid details of the entire area, with a possible indication to the medics, to help track their patients. Of course a lot of diligence was required, to put this into practice. Vaccination details of an individual was not as sensitive information, as say HIV status. There is an obvious need for segregation of data which is made available in the public domain and that for which strict privacy settings are required. One has to think through, on how to practically implement this data mining activity.
6 On President Obama’s Bangalore Buffalo rhetoric
BG:With the advent of globalization, we are all citizens of the world and not just restricted to one single country. Breakthrough Innovation in Education, Healthcare and other sectors can only happen when sound economics operate guiding the competitive market forces at play. Mr Gates agreed that immigration restrictions on smart people was indeed very damaging and “how about making an exception”, he said. There was no way anyone can make predictions on whether the situation will get better or worse, he added. It is a huge mistake and fortunately in India, there are no restrictions like this. Mr Som Mittal also interjected, saying presently there are some 18000 US Citizens working in India and the corporate sector is very supportive towards them. It has to be seen, what the effects will be in the short term, and eventually in future, he warned.
7 What is your advice to Nandan Nilekani on the Unique Identification project that he is leading
BG:I am going to meet him tonight, he said. Mr Gates sounded very positive and congratulated Nandan Nilekani on taking up such a huge responsibility which had the potential to change the country in a very big way. He would be greatly interested, to see the milestones being achieved and also explore areas and applications, where Microsoft could partner. Which geographies to connect to and how to maintain the accuracy of the database. He felt that there were certain areas which needed to be looked into. For instance how much information do you really want the computer to pick up. In the US, there was a clear case of information overload which should clearly be avoided and also how to tackle redundancy and accuracy of data. He also talked about an inexpensive digital technology, which had its roots in Indonesia and making great progress.
8 In the area of Healthcare, how does one reach out to the end user. Commonly held belief that most of the aid do not reach the person for who it has been intended, can technology play a role in overcoming this problem?
BG: Mr Gates said that Africa also faced a similar problem, where the condition of road infrastructure was quite poor. In the 60s and 70s, there was huge investment in road infrastructure and this was one of the reasons for success of the Green Revolution in India. Basic infrastructural investments needed to go up significantly, if products were to be distributed effectively. CDs, books, DVDs, newspapers perhaps can be viewed over the Internet but food, medicine need physical distribution –just like the traditional ways. Ineffective distribution channels, were to be made more effective. He jocularly remarked that medicine was easier to reach to people than money, as no one would want to stockpile polio vaccines. The problem of distribution of inexpensive food and money was really a very big problem and it was more of a governance issue than a technological one. Shri Sachin Pilot also addressed on the last mile execution problem and the importance of having public audits. He briefly touched upon the RTI Act, the role of Central Governments, Panchayats and how to go about plugging the delivery leakages.
9 On Social Networking
BG:He agreed that Social Networking was the new buzzword and how on facebook some 10000 people sent him friend requests which eventually frustrated him so much that he had to put it off. However, if used judiciously, it can be a very powerful tool with the huge possibility of sharing of important resources and connecting the business world. He talked about how a person can have a completely different identity in these sites, as opposed to the person that he is in real life. Lot of innovation was happening in the area of email transmission, messaging and social networking, he added.
10 How do you reach out to the people, that polio vaccination is very important, much more so than mobile music, which perhaps has a larger audience
BG: We should spread the message. Telling people on the ills of smoking and the importance of correct eating habits. How to communicate effectively is of course an interesting challenge. Reaching out to the community at large would perhaps help.
11 How to come together and make something big happen, when there are disparate forces pulling in opposite directions
BG: Mr Gates talked about cheap renewable energy which was also environment friendly. To procure energy at one fourth the cost of what it is today, with no side effects. He talked about Nuclear energy, Nuclear Fission and Fusion. He also touched upon the areas where solar energy could be used more effectively.
12 Will Bill Gates go back to Microsoft, ever?
BG No. He will of course stay in touch with the latest research and the next generation office package, but not likely to go back full time. Currently his focus was on doing something significant in the field of Healthcare, which was at an elementary stage. How to build a successful model by getting smart people to believe in it. How to get governmental funding. Mr Gates said that Healthcare sector was in the stage what the computer industry was in the 70s and thus had a long way to go. He was loving his new work and was as fanatical about it, as he was about Microsoft. When you are doing your primary work, you don’t have room for second thoughts, he said. He was also magnanimous enough to concede that hopefully the smart guys at Microsoft will do even better than what he did. Such was his greatness.
13 Future of Search
BG Big, very big. He said, this was one area where there was continuous innovation and Microsoft was doing some great work. He urged people to try BING, the new search engine from the Microsoft stable and said that 3 years from now, search engines will boast of functionalities which were unthinkable today.
14 What motivated you to make this radical shift?
BG The disparity of circumstances that people live in are so very striking and stark that you either ignore it completely or do something about it. He chose to do the latter. He quite humbly attributed his own success to the fact that his skill set matched a certain time, a certain requirement, in a certain circumstance and he made the most of it. What you really choose to do with it, will eventually determine your path. Leaving back billions to your children who themselves have no clue what to do with all that money, is not a very good idea. Children should be allowed to choose their own destiny. He also attributed his thinking process to his parental upbringing. Warren Buffet’s contribution quite simply doubled the resources and put that much extra responsibility on his shoulders, he said. Currently, the foundation employs 603 people and growing by the day. Mr Gates said that he was talking to people who do it, can do it and eventually join him in doing it for the less privileged. This ultimately will have an impact on the people of both US & India.
It was like a dream. The time had passed. I would live to tell my grandchildren that I was in the same room with William Gates. The whirring cameras gave some indication to my thoughts!
Related posts
- The Special NASSCOM CEO’s forum with Mr. Bill Gates on Transforming India Through Technology Well, here I am LIVE blogging Transforming India through Technology...
- Transforming IT and rural India In any industry, annual growth of over 25% would be...
- Technology Opportunities serving the millions of India: The next major growth area for Indian technology firms The last decade has witnessed a number of technology innovations...
- “Don’t be an Idiot, you can’t do business here” “Don’t be an Idiot, you can’t do business here” This...
- A gist from the finalists – Market Facing – New Technology Advancement, NASSCOM Innovation Awards 2008 Today, we started the first showcase of Innovative companies...
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment