New technologies like AI can boost quality of life and wealth creation in rural India

?? Ashish Pandey

Rural parts of the country have largely been neglected when it comes to employment generation, but new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to change this situation, says Anish Kumar, Co-Lead, Transform Rural India (TRI). In an interaction with ET Digital, Kumar says that if today’s technology wave is deployed well, it can transform quality of life, bring in opportunities for intergenerational mobility and create wealth in the villages. Besides, new technologies provide an opportunity within the National Education Policy (NEP) framework to focus on vocational, entrepreneurship, digital and AI literacy to open up new possibilities, he says. Edited excerpts:

The Economic Times (ET): As India moves forward with its Viksit Bharat 2027 vision, what role do you see rural India playing in this transformation?

Anish Kumar (AK): Viksit Bharat will require India to sustain growth at 8% annually. This will require rural India to have higher growth — a tough ask at any time. There is a silver lining, though. In the last couple of years, rural areas have outpaced urban ones. One of the significant drivers has been higher government spending, including massive infrastructure and net-zero investments from public and private sources.

The sectoral composition of the Indian economy requires accelerated structural transformation with rapid diversification in secondary and tertiary sectors. The twin prospect of higher growth and sectoral diversification is critical for the achievement of Viskit Bharat. The two challenges hobbling this are the growing capability gap of the rural workforce and the significant rural-urban divide in fertility rate.

The national focus on ‘ease of living’ has largely focused on RKM-BSP — roti, kapda, makan-bijli, sadak, paani. It has seen success but is now seeing diminishing returns. It has to expand to include 3i — innovations, investments, institutional push — in human capital. We have to focus on nutrition, high-quality delivery of healthcare, education and skills to realise rural potential. As a society, we can’t afford the growing urban-rural inequality, and rural renaissance must become the prime national priority.

ET: What are the most significant emerging challenges that rural India faces today, particularly in terms of quality of life, farming practices and job opportunities?

AK: Perceived cost of being stuck in villages bereft of opportunities is the most terrifying of the emerging challenges. Even urban life, particularly for the lower two quintiles of the population, is extremely precarious, with not much security and growth. This is further exacerbated by climate risks to life and livelihoods. The misery of the Covid lockdown is still not out of memory.

What we need to do urgently — and we are moving in that direction — is to get rural habitats with basic infrastructure needs of housing, sanitation, mobility, power, logistics and digital connectivity. This will give a leg-up to the prospects of rural growth. And we have to address human capital deficits. A new deal on social security that doesn’t let anyone fall and bounce-back opportunities can provide a spine for the creation of a new rural economy that can diversify into small manufacturing,?and lead to the emergence of a rural services economy architecture.

The rural non-farm sector hasn’t kept pace with the increase in workforce and is actually depressing per-capita farm income even as productivity has increased. With increased schooling years, there is a very large potential workforce yearning for work outside of farms. Unless we are able to create decent place-based work opportunities, we will not be able to create fulfilling lives.

ET: How do you see the aspirations of rural youth and women shaping the future of rural India? What changes in policies are needed to support their ambitions?

AK: India’s economic growth has not translated into transformative gains as concomitant market penetration in rural areas is weak. As a result, an estimated 120 million people migrate from rural to urban labour markets.

But villages are much more aspirational today. The last decade recorded the sharpest decline in rural poverty. One of the drivers of this energy is that it's a much younger demography with a median age of just under 28. This section has better access to modern media, transport and is better connected to opportunities outside villages.

Rural youth have poor educational attainments. 68% drop out before Class X and barely 2% of tribal girls complete graduation. However, this generation has a much higher number of years in formal education. Rising aspirations, younger population, higher disposable income, better education together add up to an unprecedented opportunity for the young and women even within the asymmetrical skill matrix vis-à-vis the urban counterparts.

The historical neglect of rural areas as creators of jobs needs to be reversed. Technology provides new spaces of trade intermediation. There is still an opportunity within the National Education Policy (NEP) framework to focus on vocational, entrepreneurship, digital and AI literacy to open new possibilities.

Read the full interview as originally published on Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/new-technologies-like-ai-can-boost-quality-of-life-and-wealth-creation-in-rural-india-transform-rural-india/articleshow/112727584.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst