<div><strong>Simar Singh</strong><br><br>When Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India Mission, there was an outpour of support, particularly, to no surprise, from the IT industry. And Intel too wanted to jump in and help to see this programme materialise.</div><div> </div><div>“We have been trying to help digitalize India for a long time now. We understand that there is a gap in terms of knowledge and innovation that needs to be filled,” says Sandeep Aurora, Intel South Asia’s director of marketing and market development.</div><div> </div><div>Taking the same forward, Intel announced its ‘Innovate for Digital India Challenge’ in collaboration with MyGov, Department of Science and Technology(DST), Department of Electronics and Information Technology(DEitY) as well as IIM Ahmadabad which is running the programme.</div><div> </div><div>“What we realised was that a lot of times there were attempts to solve problems organic and unique to the Indian experience by deploying solutions that have been created abroad. These are often a poor fit because there is actually no understanding of the issue itself,” says Aurora, explaining the thought behind the programme, “This is why we decided to start from the ground-up and let people come up with the solutions itself.”</div><div> </div><div>Of course, it is important to understand that the success of programmes like Digital India are essential to the very business of a company like Intel. In the United States and the West, Intel’s revenues have seen a stagnation as PC have declined, directly hitting its main microchip business. India, however, with a progressive increase of digital permeation, has been witnessing an increase in PC sales. The sheer scope of this creates a huge opportunity for Intel.</div><div> </div><div>After receiving an overwhelming 1900 responses, the programme narrowed down the selection to 20 teams which are undergoing a “very intensive” accelerator programme in Pune where Intel is helping them connect with mentors, advisors, academicians and people from the industry. “People who are helping them fine-tune their concepts,” says Aurora.</div><div> </div><div>The ideas that are being developed span solutions pertaining to everything from agriculture and education to women’s safety and citizens connect. Intel plans to showcase the top 10 of this in Delhi next month.</div><div> </div><div>Aurora believes that the programme has been a great success not just in terms of the products coming out but also interns of creating a culture of innovation. </div><div> </div><div>This is something that he believes is essential to the success of Digital India. “The idea that innovation is possible is starting to get settled in people’s minds. Innovation can happen here and now and we can do it,” he quips.</div><div> </div><div>“India has been innovating for a long time, it’s just that the innovations do not see scale. We have not been very good at making these innovations available for mass use. We need to ensure that a culture of innovation is sustained and the scalability happens,” he explains.</div><div> </div><div>Aurora says that the biggest thing for Intel right now is Digital India and making this mission see the light of the day. “This is something that we are very bullish on and very busy in.”</div>
