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From A Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) For A Few To A Smart Telephone In Every Adult’s Hand In Digitalising Bharat

 Dt:  24/7/25

From

A Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) For A Few

To

A Smart Telephone In Every Adult’s  Hand In

Digitalising Bharat

Dr T. H. Chowdary*

Dr T.H. Chowdary  in his decade’s – long  involvement in telecommunications and information technology services  in India and  abroad presents in this three-part narrative  a broad view of the services  and their present status.

2. On these subjects he had written  over 2000 articles , made  hundreds of  Power Point Presentations  some of which are  brought out in several books and monographs.

Digitalisation in Bharat

In the Last Decade (2014-25)

My house-maid, a class three drop-out, aged about forty goes to the  weekly neighbourhood vegetables vendors’ line, buys the week’s vegetables. She takes no cash with her.  She takes my cell phone with her.  The vegetable vending ladies  too have cell phone . My maid pays the vendor through her cell phone into her bank account.  Both get the  message regarding the  debit and credit.

2. My driver, a rajaka by caste has his  father in a far- off village in East Godavari District of AP .  He periodically sends money -  does not go to the post office or a bank.  He sends money from his cell phone to the  far-off father’s cell phone.  The debit and credit are messaged from their banks into their  cell phones.

3. One applies for ration cards at an  E-Seva Kendra which uploads his/her  Aadhar card, electricity bill etc.  After few days he/she can collect the ration card.

4. These are  transactions by even semi-literate people living and working almost anywhere in Bharat.  Electricity brought light and power into homes and work places.  Telecommunications and cell phones are  transforming Bharat into a digital ( not Dismay) .  In the  1980s, I popularized the  goals to be achieved:

·         Haath, haath mein telephone: Goan , gaon main Internet

·         Communicate for work: Commute for pleasure

5. Through series of economic industrial and  commercial reforms we built a state of the  art telecom network and transformed it by exertions of rightly regulated fiercely competing telecom companies building and up-grading electronic- photonic telecom high way systems for storage and  exchange of information - speech , text, graphics, data… The basic infrastructure required for informatisation of population, society, business, education  and government has been built by the middle of the   second decade of  the this century. 

6.  What is accomplished since the last eleven years is phenomenal.  Highly motivating the people inspiring and instructing the  people by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for new ways of  doing every type of work.  We are  now a specially and highly digitalising  nation.  The following  figures bear this out:

·         Jan Dhan A/C : 55.02 cr    i.e 36.63 cr in rural area

·         Bank A/Cs : 250 cr

·         Nearly every house-hold has an A/C

·         SBI  - 50 cr

·         No. of ration cards: 85 cr

·         Telephones: 121 Cr (85 per 100 people;  urban :132% rural:60%)

·         Internet connections: 2014  -   25 cr;  2025  -   97 cr

·         Fiber optical cable: 42 lakh kilometers ( 11 times the earth – moon distance)

·         8,00,000 cell phone towers

·         Platforms like UPI handle 100 billion  ( 10,000 cr) transactions / year  -  half of the world’s  

·         Direct Benefit Transfers  - 44,00,000 cr (cutting leakage of Rs. 3.8 lakh cr)

·         Open network for digital  commerce  - for buyers and  vendors ( recently crossed 20 Cr  half  in the last six months)

·         GeM  - Government e-Market place  ( crosses one lakh crore transactions  in 50 days)

·         COVIN: World’s largest vaccination program issued 220 cr QR verifiable certificates

·         Digital locker has 54 cr users

·         India logs half of the  world’s digital transactions

7. Finally just as we have the  Vedic aspiration

Om Sahanaavavatu, sahanu bhunaktu

Sahaveeryam Karavaavahaih

Tejasvinaavadheetamastu

Maa Vidvishaavahaih,

Om! Shantih, shantih, shantih!

8. The Prime Miniter Narendra Modi’s call is :

·         Let us build empowers

·         Let us solve what truly matters

·         Let us lead with technology that unites, includes and  uplifts

9. Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence shall be used  for  aryanising (enabling)  the whole humanity

·         Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam..

·         Ekam sat, viprah bahudhaa vadanti

·         Krinvato viswamaaryam

Where the Hindu is  without fear

Where the Hindu is  “Without Fear”

Where true  history is told and every Hindu  holds his head high

Where Bharat is not broken into  Muslim and Christian districts

Where words come  out from the depth of  truth

Where reason and inquiry  are not  silenced by terror of fanatics

Where treason and guilt are reason for  insecurity of some

Into the heaven of freedom, honest endeavour  and divine  grace ,

My father ! let my country awake   and march

(With apologies to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s,

“Where the mind is without fear” )

Telecoms for Information Societies

One hundred ninety four (194) member countries of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) celebrate 17^th May of every year as World Telecommunications and Information Society Day .    Twenty European countries founded the ITU on 17 May 1865 in Paris as International Telegraph Union. As  telephone (1876) , radio (1895), under-ocean communications cables (1955), geo-synchronous satellites 36,400 km up above the equator (1963), Internet (1983) as all information in  voice, text, pictures  and data got electronified, national telecommunications networks using different communications technologies got interconnected.  This process is facilitated by collaborative  efforts in the ITU.  A similar organization for international  postal  services  , the General Postal Union, was founded  nine years later in 1874, in Berne in Switzerland.  It changed its name into Universal Postal Union (UPU) .  Russia since 1865,   India and  UK in 1871 , Japan 1879, USA 1908 and China in 1920 are members of the  ITU.

2.  The Chief Executive Officer  of the  ITU is designated the Secretary General; the office is located in Geneva, Switzerland.  The Secretary General is elected for a four year term.  Until a few years ago, an illustrious telecom person  from a non-powerful country like Australia, Sweden, Algeria , Mali used to be elected to this crucial office.  But China ‘s Hulin Zhao successfully got elected in 2015-2022 ; just as it got elected as Director General of the  World Health Organization  (WHO) in 2006.

3. In 1932  the Telegraph Union  of 1865 became  the International Telecom Union  (ITU) in order to  cover  the telephone and radio communications between nations.  In Nov 1947  it became a specialist organization of the United Nations  taking cognizance of the developments  in radio and satellite communication technologies it went on transforming itself  into  multi-mode  communications  organization.   Starting with 20 countries in 1865, it now has  194 sovereign states as its Members. Every type of international communications is its concern so that the national networks with different technologies interconnect  with every other  communication network in  every country of the world .

4. The ITU  keeping abreast of the  new forms of communications, various radio systems including satellite communications lays down international  standards through an extensive consultative process  through various committees from different nations  so that we have  instantaneous  communications from  any point on the planet earth   to any other and even to its  satellite,  on the moon. Communications are  facilitating the exchange  of information and  knowledge  being generated from several sources on the planet earth.  Ronald Reagan, the 40^th US President (1981-89) once famously warned terrorists, “ you may run; but you can’t hide”.  This is because satellites in the sky take pictures of every thing on earth, emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRD)  send signals  from the spot where a ship wrecked (sank) , these are picked up by satellites and rescue operations are  guided to the spot.

5. A World Summit On The  Information Society  (WSIS) was convened by the  ITU along with UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP with the aim  of bridging the  digital divide in the year 2003 in Geneva and in Tunis in 2005.  After extensive deliberations  what used to be observed  as World Telecom Day was decided to be   renamed as World Telecom And Information Society Day  (WTIS) in Nov 2006 at the ITU’s   plenipotentiary conference  in Atalya in Turkey ( now Türkiye). 

6.  After China’s Hulin Zhao, another great power , USA’s Doreen Bogden was elected as Secretary General, effective from 1^st Jan 2023.  This is the  first time a lady is leading the 160 years old ITU!  In May 2023 the ITU opened a regional office in India. In October 2024 India  played host to the  ITU’s world conference ITU GSS  on telecom standards in Delhi. 

7. This year’s deliberation are on the  theme “Ensuring Digital Future for all”.  We are already witnessing the  fruits  of  digital communications  revolution in India as for instance  even vegetable vendors  accept  money transfers on their  cell phones. Artificial  Intelligence (AI) which will be part of  deliberations  on 17 May profoundly affects  humans.  Sam Altman, Open AI’s CEO and AI guru sees India positioning itself as a leading player in the   global AI landscape ( IE  04-03-2025)

8.  The world’s 7.95 billion people have a staggering  8.5 bln mobile phones, many of them smart ones.  In Bharat more than half a dozen states have  more  cell phones  than people, Delhi, Kerala, Himachal , Karnataka leading with Bihar  having 65 telephones for 100 people as against India’s average of 85.

9. Information processed is knowledge.  Knowledge is power. Smart mobiles  telephones  place every information before you.  That is  why a mere  World  Telecom Day  , 17 May is since  November 2006 being observed as Telecom & Information Society Day.  Here are some interesting facts about telephones:

10. Interesting Facts about Telephones:

·         Countries with  telephones  more than population -  Russia & South Africa

·         Countries with largest number of telephones  - China, India, USA, Indonesia

·         Producers of largest number of telephones   - China, South Korea

·         Telephones in the  world   - 8.58 blns for 7.9 bln people

·         India’s mobile phones  - 1.2 bln

·         Tele-density in India  - 85 for 100 people

·         Tele-density in : (phones per 100 people)

o   Urban India  - 131.86

o   Rural – 58.48

o   Lowest Bihar – 65

o   Highest  Delhi  - 278Next HP 174

o   Kerala -121

·         World Telephone Density  - 109 phones  / 100 people

·         Mobile phone shares in India  ( in mlns)

·         Mukhesh Ambani, Akash Ambani, Isha Ambani head R-Jio companies

11. I am particularly happy that my forty-year long private and  public campaigns since 1966 at considerable risk to my  career in government for demonopolizing telecoms services, opening their competitive provision  by private sector companies have led to the  realization of what I strove for and articulated in early 1980s.

·         Haath haath mein telephone

Gaon gaon mein Internet

·         Communicate for work

Commute for pleasure

The political decisions for realization  of these goals were taken by three Prime Ministers -  P V Narasimha Rao , Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Behari Vajpayi. 

Artificial Intelligence : A Specter

A specter is haunting the intelligentsia of the world,  the specter of  Artificial Intelligence (AI) .  Computers can learn, just as humans, if they are fed information, data .  They can analogue m argue,  write, papers,  speak, teach, solve problems; they can even read our thoughts.  It has taken thousands of years for humans to acquire the knowledge and  intelligence the best among them have acquired.  The process is called evolution .  But does evolution stop with humans.  If it does not stop with humans, what will they become next?  Sage Aurabindo speculated, that man will become super man ! Indian lore tells us  that some of our sages became Bhramarishis, like Viswamitra who created Trisanku , a Swarga, heaven ! 

2. Artificial intelligence, creation of men is infesting every exertion and creation of men. It makes men and nations more  prosperous and  powerful and  therefore  there is a race between  leading nations, especially, between the  USA and China .

3. The USA and China are furiously engaged in the  development of AI to excel one another as the world’s super power and the most prosperous nation.  What is involved in this and where  does Bharat stand is presented in this  article.

4. Increase in GDP due to use of  AI between 2020 and 2030 is estimated  by Price Water House Corporation to rise by 14% ( $ 16 tln).  The table below shows in which region, how much will rise (  Increase as in GDP by 2030 Resulting from AI)

Increase in GDP by 2030 resulting from AI

Source:  Price Waterhouse Coopers, Sizing the Prize, 2017

China, the USA and  Japan together account for 78% of all AI patents filing in the  world and

for half the  world’s spending on the Internet of  Things (IOT).

Geographical Distribution of Spending on Internet of Things , 2019

( % Share of Worldwide Total)

5. A report from Oxford Economics  states “On average a new robot displaces  nearly twice as many jobs in lower income regions compared with higher income regions  of the  same country. 

At a time of worldwide concern about growing level of  economic inequality and political polarization, this finding  has important social and political  implications (P 112).

6. It is estimated that AI-related products and services will cause a 16 trillion dollar increase in global GDP ( in 2025 $ 106 trln) by 2030.  The Chinese intend to capture  $7 trln, while North America’s share will be lower at $ 3.7 tln.

7. China is the Saudi Arabia of Data. If AI is the new electricity, big data is the  oil that power  the generators.  And as China’s vibrant and unique internet ecosystem took off after 2012, it turned to be the world’s top producer of the petroleum  for the  age of Artificial Intelligence .

8.  Nuralink:  Elan Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla has invested in Brain -Machine  Interfaces (BMI research with the  objective of merging the  fields of robotic surgery, neuroscience and AI.  The hope is for robots to  surgically implant miniscule BMI chips in the brain to augment memory and  analytical capabilities.

9. India produced a whopping 2.6 mln Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) graduates in 2016, second only to China and  more than four times than the  USA .  It is  projected to produce 18 mln in 2027.

Comparative performance of India  and  China between 1950  and 2021 is:

10. We may console and flatter ourselves over the fact that we have  scores of political parties while China has only one  and politics is the best business /commerce  to become millionaires and  pass on the  wealth and power to our  Parivar.

11. Bain & company predicts that by 2030, US employees will need  twenty to thirty million fewer workers than in 2021.  May be, that is why President Donald Trump is  hounding out undocumented and  unwanted  foreigners.

12. Dr Malhotra opines that the  investment of Face Book and  Google in Sri Mukhesh Ambani’s Reliance companies  may lead Bharat to slide into  digital slavery with useless masses and happy morons ensures it an honourable place in history (226)  ( But if we have the likes of Sonia, Rahul, Mamata, Wadra..?)

China shunned them and   developed their  Chinese rivals .

In 2007, China had no highspeed rail lines. Yet by 2019 it had more miles of these than the rest of the world combined (P12).  It has its own space station, the Tiangong (P 12) .

A nation is great not by its size alone.  It is the  will, the cohesion, the stamina, the  discipline of its  people  and the   quality of their leaders

– Lee Kuan You

13. A recent Stanford (USA) Report gives the following information:

·         Investments attracted during 2013-24 into development of AI.

·         Research papers on AI in 2024.

·         Startups in 2024

14. What I have recorded in this narrative  is what  Dr. Rajiv Malhotra India’s intellectual warrior in the  USA has after extensive studies postulated as to what is  in store for the world  especially China, USA an d India.  He thinks that  the partnership of  India’s Reliance companies with Face Book and Google is injurious to India. May be that is why he is not honoured with a Padma award.

END

(2,633 words + 7 tables)