Bridging the Gap in Technology Generation and Adoption in India

A larger disparity still exists between well-developed countries of Northern America, Europe and some parts of Asia in comparison with developing countries in Asia. Many experts attribute this to slow adoption of technologies into mainstream society.

Just take for example communications convergence through the Internet. In a review conducted by the World Summit on the Information Society, it was declared that only a quarter of the world’s population is using the Internet. In developed countries, even rural areas have sufficient infrastructures in place that would enable broadband access. This is a sharp contrast to developing countries where even urban areas, institutions and schools do not have online access.

In India, efforts are bridging the gap and bringing these developed technologies to practical use and adoption by the targeted end users of society. One good example is the significant headway that the power sector in the country has achieved over the last few decades in terms of volume of power generation as well as the widespread reach for distribution. These successes are attributed mainly due to the proper adoption of various innovations and technolo-gies that are very important to an emerging economy such as in India that relies heavily in energy.

But can the same successes in this industry be duplicated by other industries, as well as the country as a whole? Can the same quality of products and services be delivered to the consumers and pave the way for the further development of the nation? The answer would lie in how effective the assimilation of new technologies would be and how the gap between technology generation and adoption would be whittled down to acceptable levels – towards better implementation of technologies for the betterment of society.

Technology generation and adoption: Why is there a gap?

To answer this, looking at India from an agricultural perspective would be a good approach, since agriculture remains the heart and soul of the economy. Even developed countries have agriculture as the backbone of their economies. The difference lies in the quick and effective dissemination and adoption of technologies and innovations stemming from exhaustive and extensive government and private research. This fast transfer of ag-ricultural developments and technologies right down to where it all matters is critical and crucial in the development of society and the nation as a whole.

In India and other developing nations the transfer of new technologies for agriculture have not only been con-ventional but insufficient as well. Many gain knowledge and information only through traditional channels like the radio or newspapers, but even the volume through such channels (only 77.3 percent for radio and 11.3 percent for newspapers) is not sufficient enough to warrant proper adoption of these technologies. With the vast wealth of knowledge at their disposal through the Internet, only 12 percent of farmers use this channel and even less use these technologies for making critical decisions in the farms and fields.

Although the support of the government has tried to remedy this gap over the last 55 years, their efforts remained unfruitful or incomplete due to manual dissemination, training and information drive towards the majority of farmers. That’s why technology implementation slowed down to a crawl, making it obsolete or ineffectual by the time it reached the end users. The same can be called true for other industries and aspects of society a fact that is typical in developing countries like India – and should be properly addressed now.

Bridging the gap: A convergence of technology generation and adoption

A quick convergence from the moment a new technology is generated to the time it is disseminated and adopted by the populace is the key element for bridging this gap and paving the way for further development of the society and the nation. The following are some of the key roles that various sectors in society should take part of to make this convergence a reality – and totally eradicating any unnecessary gaps between technology generation and adoption.

The Role of the Government

The government should always be the catalyst and initiating party for developing, generating and sustaining new technologies for various industries including agriculture and food production that play a major role in India’s society. Calls for agricultural scientists to step up their drive in developing new technologies have been put forward by various sectors in a bid to stem the steady decline of farm land holdings brought about the continued increases in population.

Not only are these urgings calling forth the generation of new technologies, but scientists are also exhorted to develop new and efficient methods of disseminating and transferring these technologies for the subsequent adoption of end users. The government will play a key role towards the dissemination and instruction of end users on new technological innovations that would improve their methodologies and processes for better and higher qual-ity outputs.

This includes the establishment of more training institutions, centers and universities as well as beefing up extension agencies that will oversee the dissemination and implementation of these new technologies. The adoption of new Information Technologies and computer-based trainings should also be established, with easy access by end users like farmers and extension agency workers.

The government should also be the bridge or interface between research facilities that develop these new technologies and the industrial end users. A special agency or department should act as a liaison to ensure that proper technology transfer is achieved and implemented, while taking into consideration the various mechanisms, trends, and management systems needed for the technology transfer.

The role of industry

The companies and institutions at the forefront of developing new technologies should also aim for bridging the gap between generation and adoption by the end users by adopting proper routes and channels to make technology transfer faster and more effective. Multi-service contact centers would be one good way for realizing this, using high-technology channels and options that would make it easier for the end users and consumers to make use and adopt these technologies. This also includes the improvement of new service methodologies and processes, more so-phisticated enhancements, and improving the supply chain.

However, before companies improve on their external services in order to bridge the gap in the delivery and adap-tation of their technologies by end users, these companies should also focus on developing and improving their internal structures as well. They should ensure that all employees, staff and service personnel are knowledgeable in these new technologies that they are introducing and disseminating before releasing it to the general public. Any technological gaps that exist within their organizations, particularly between old and younger employees, should be properly addressed. This would ensure quality and reliability of service when it comes to properly disseminating it for adoption by end users.

The role of improving communications

With over 2 million Internet connections and over 22 million telephone subscribers in India, it is still not sufficient enough to bridge the gap in information dissemination and communications required by society. Two-way communication channels should be properly established to ensure that transfer of technology and information between research organizations, marketing networks, and extension agencies to the end users are properly es-tablished. The government of India is addressing these needs through the following channels:

• Press, radio and television programs in the vernacular of targeted end users
• Use of state-of-the art communications like satellite and the Internet
• Other forms of audio and visual communications like mobile cellular communications

A report from the World Telecommunications Development Conference indicated that the adoption of technologies and Internet connectivity in developing countries like India is attributed to the fact that more people speak languages with non-Latin scripts, making it difficult for them to get data from the Internet, much less get something relevant for them. This is a clear indication of the need for promoting the importance of using the Internet and making society more literate in this area, while making it possible for them to understand by allowing the use of as many languages, scripts and channels available to the general populace as possible.

The Role of Providing Education

Part of ensuring that the public and intended end-users of developed technologies would be knowledgeable in this area is to provide them with the proper channels for obtaining knowledge and education. This includes the establishment of various research centers, institutes, bureaus, laboratories and universities, as well as repositories for accumulated knowledge and information such as libraries and data centers that are made accessible to the end users.

The use of the latest in Information Technologies in these education channels is also critical in ensuring the effectiveness and productivity of such institutions. This includes the use of expert systems, networks, multimedia information systems, digital and virtual libraries as well as other information management channels.

The Role of the People

While the government, NGOs, corporations and other agencies are taking part in the bridging the gap between the generation of technology and disseminating these technologies for the proper adoption of end-users in India, the people themselves should also take a major role in ensuring that these efforts would not go to waste. End users should coordinate and collaborate with extension agencies and workers, research networks and participate in the programs put forward by these institutions.

In this regard, Village Information Shops are currently being experimented with in various areas in India, as a channel for collaboration wherein villagers use them as information kiosks while also serving as means to provide insight to the government and research institutions regarding the needs and capacities of these villagers. These information shops should provide value-added information that the villagers will see as extensive and can actually improve their livelihood – and seeing it as such, these villagers will have no qualms in investing in such systems.

Quoting Sures Elangovan in his article in Silicon India entitled “An Open Letter to the Youth of India”, he mentioned that the youth and the rest of the population should be part of a Knowledge Society:

“India must stand up to the World; unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us as a nation - only strength respects strength. We must be strong, not only as a military power, but also as an economic power. This is our vision, and it can be none other than transforming India into a developed nation. The government alone cannot achieve this vision and we need a people’s movement in the country; and this is the time to ignite the minds of people to join this movement. We must all share this vision and deliver knowledge to the needy using innovative technologies. We must be committed to propel the national economy through a knowledge based eco system.”

Knowledge and information are crucial elements that will ensure the continued development of society and as a nation. These are also the primary elements needed to bridge the gap between the technology generation and the adoption and proper usage of these technologies for the good of society.