DNA Edit: Digital revolution – Looking ahead at the unique jobs to come

Any new government policy brings with it the promise of employment generation. The National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018 is no different. It promises to create 40 lakh jobs across the country. However, most of these jobs will require highly skilled, educated and competent people since they would require to be abreast of latest technological developments. This shows that they have to learn new skills. At the core of the new digital revolution that the NDCP purports to usher in over a period of four years are cutting-edge concepts of artificial intelligence, machine-to-machine connections and the Internet of Things. The thing about technology is that it is constantly evolving. 

So, while it opens up new and smarter ways of doing work and brings in new opportunities for wealth and employment generation, it also robs people of jobs and livelihood. One needs to see how many unique jobs the new digital policy is likely to create. India’s digital communication sector is undergoing sweeping changes. The government’s plan to enable fixed line broadband access to 50 per cent households in the country, and its efforts to attract investments of $100 billion in the digital communications sector by 2022 with the help of regulatory reforms are indeed laudable. 

However, on a cautionary note: In India, even the Prime Minister is frustrated by call drops. Such has been his exasperation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inquired during a meeting how much fines have been collected from telecom companies for call drops. We need to stay rooted to  the ground and get our basics right before aiming for the sky.