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(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Ensuring Employment Growth through innovations

[May-2021]

In the present age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the technological advances have been constantly innovating the Indian job sector, giving rise to millions of new jobs.
According to the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) research, the future is set to see another three million new jobs in the IT space, catapulting India’s tech army to reach 7 million by 2023.
The new-age jobs are envisioned to spawn in emerging technology areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), big data, blockchain, Augmented Reality (AR) and data science, among others.
While these technologies add greater efficiency to enterprise operations by reducing human hours and increasing productivity levels, the new jobs also call for skilled professionals adept at handling digital tools, which most Indian enterprises apparently lack at present.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has approved a Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) Scheme being implemented by its Innovation and IPR Division with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 264.62 Crore as grant-in-aid over a period of five years.

The Scheme will be implemented through 51 incubators at institutes of higher learning and premier Research and Development organisations, eventually leading to handholding of approximately 2000 tech start-ups. The major objectives of the scheme are:
Setting up and strengthening Technology Incubation Centres in institutions of higher learning,
Nurture Technology Entrepreneurship Development for commercial exploitation of technologies developed by them,
Promoting product oriented research and development,
Encourage development of indigenous products and packages and bridging the gap between Research and Development and commercialisation.
To support tech start-ups, seven select thematic areas were identified to address societal challenges based on national priorities particularly in the realm of:

(i) Healthcare

(ii) Education

(iii) Agriculture

(iv) Financial inclusion including digital payments

(v) Infrastructure and transportation

(vi) Environment and clean tech

(vii) Clean Energy Solutions

Another scheme being implemented by them is Multiplier Grants Scheme (MGS) with a view to encourage collaborative Research and Development between industry and academics/Research and Development institutions for development of products and packages.
Department of Science and Technology launched a NIDHI programme in 2016 (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations) under
which programmes for setting up of incubators, seed fund, accelerators and ‘Proof of concept’ grant for innovators and entrepreneurs have been launched.
Under NIDHI, PRAYAS (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring innovators & Startups) programme has been initiated in which established Technology Business Incubators (TBI) are supported with PRAYAS grant to support innovators and entrepreneurs with grants for ‘Proof of Concept’ and developing prototypes.

An active collaboration between the government, the private sector and civil society to understand the likely impact of innovations and technological changes and to respond with corresponding adjustments to the business, policy and educational landscape will be crucial.
The opportunities presented by technological disruption are immense. Now is the time for India to harness them.