SIEMENS

How have information technologies changed India?

Nilekani: Thirty to 40 years back, IT was seen as a job killer. Today it is seen as empowering and transformational. Mobile phones are an example. 90 percent of them in India are prepaid, and most are used by people who earn less than $2000 per year. Information technology has transformed many key parts of our economy. For example, our stock markets are today among the most modern because we have used technology effectively. And India is the only large country in which all votes — over 400 million in a general election — are cast electronically.

What are the major areas in which information technology will play a role in India's future?

Nilekani: Healthcare and energy distribution — two areas in which Siemens is in a strategic position to provide solutions. In healthcare, I believe there will be a new paradigm characterized by a hub-and-spoke configuration. Through advanced information technology we can bring excellent diagnostics out to the tip of the spoke — the point of care. Non-specialized workers can deliver much better service by being able to access an information hub — a system, for instance, such as ReMeDe or Remote Medical Diagnostics now being piloted in parts of India. The system combines low-bandwidth video/audio conferencing with a network of clinics and pharmacies and could be combined with portable medical records.In the energy generation and distribution sector, the paradigm will be just the opposite. For instance, instead of building, say, one 500 MW coal plant, it might be better to invest in fivehundred 1-MW solar, biomass, biogas, or wind plants. But the moment the grid starts to depend on generators whose energy production is based on natural phenomena, it has to be smart enough to cope with uncertainty. Information technology is the key to this. What is happening today in power generation is just like what happened in computing when we evolved from the mainframe to the PC. I think that paradigm sums up our energy future.

Do you also see IT playing a role in the relationship between mobility and smart grids?

Nilekani: Yes. But we will need a new ecosystem — batteries that can be replaced at a moment's notice, charging stations, electric cars, and a de-carbonized electricity grid, which means getting the grid to be smart, and then creating thousands of renewable generators. Once your electricity is de-carbonized, you can start introducing electric or hybrid vehicles; and added power can be generated from second-generation biofuels based on non-food, agricultural wastes. If you build a smart grid and de-carbonize energy production, you are solving multiple problems. You reduce carbon dioxide emissions, you create a whole new economy where every village has its own micro grid with its own biofuels plant, its own solar plant, and its own turbines. And all of this creates jobs and spreads economic wealth.

What is your company doing for the environment?

Nilekani: Here at Infosys, we are in the process of making our new buildings as green and sustainable as possible. We are looking at dramatically reducing energy consumption. We are working on passive buildings, systems for piping lighting through buildings, and using more natural lighting. We are also investing in biodiversity. We are planting a wide range of species on our campuses — essentially giving a new meaning to the term 'business park'! And we are investing in rain water harvesting, and water reuse and recycling with a view to deriving much of our water from rain rather than having to tap into water systems.
Another energy-saving concept that we are now implementing at one of our campuses is to network the street lights by giving each light its own IP address. This allows them to respond appropriately to local lighting needs, yet in a coordinated fashion.
Imagine, for instance, that the lights would brighten and then dim as you drive or walk down a street. That's the idea. There is no reason to have all the lights go on or off at a specific time, regardless of ambient lighting conditions. That's dumb.
The point I'm making is that the smarter we get, the more we can fine tune the granularity of our efficiency. And the time frame for this is now. Our new campuses are now under construction, and they will all be green.

Can you make money with such a vision?

Nilekani: Oh you can make tons of money with it! You may want to sell an energy management system to a city. You could manage a network of IP-enabled streetlights. Today, cities are paying to light their streets all night long at full intensity, regardless of whether anyone is around. Tomorrow, they could dim their lights selectively, ensuring substantial savings.

Your book suggests that a large population can be an advantage.

Nilekani: My point is that India's strength comes from its people. And to that extent, we now think of people as human capital. But the other factor is that India is now enjoying a demographic dividend. It is the only country that has more people in its working-age population than in either its very young- or very old-age segments.
The bulk of our population is between 15 and 65, which means that the ratio of those working to those who need to be supported is very positive. For us, the next 30 years should be a demographic golden era, and we will be the only major country to have that — the only young country in an aging world. So I am not saying that it is good to have a huge population per se. I am just saying that the current demographic contours of India are strategically good.

A demographic golden era? You sound bullish on India.

Nilekani: Bullish may be too strong a term. But I am cautiously optimistic. Global factors are to our advantage. One such factor, as I mentioned, is demographics. Second, India has a very strongly entrepreneurial culture and one of the highest populations of entrepreneurs anywhere. Third, it has technologies that are now seen as empowering. It has the English language, which is the language of global business. And finally, because India is a democratic society, it has no obstacles to information flow. Therefore it's easier for us to get things right. No other country has all these things.