NEW DELHI: IT minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said that revenues from IT and business process management will cross $350 billion by 2025 as the country embarks on a massive digital expansion programme.
Speaking at Asia House, London -- a centre of Asian studies in the UK– Prasad invited Britain to tap into the massive business opportunities offered by "a new India", especially in the digital domain.
"The future is very promising because India's
digital economy, large size of our market, demographic dividend and passion for technology is creating enormous demand," the minister said, adding that new opportunities have emerged in areas such as
artificial intelligence and Internet of Things, start-ups and low-cost cyber-security solutions.
He said the combined revenues from digital economy will cross over a trillion dollars over the next few years. "While we work out the details, no one doubts the potential to make India's digital economy worth $1 trillion, employing 5-7 million people in the next 5-7 years."
Outlining India's strength in electronics manufacturing and software services, the minister said key initiatives like Bharat Net (rollout of optical fibre across gram panchayats), digital literacy and biometric identifier Aadhaar have bolstered India's position in the global digital landscape.
He also said that India is working on a new data-protection and privacy regime, and added that the country intends to have a "robust law" that will become a global benchmark in data security.
He, however, added that "privacy cannot be a shield of the corrupt and the terrorist".
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