Is India Prepared for the Upcoming Wave of Automation?

Automation is the application of technologies to produce and deliver goods and services with minimal or no human intervention. The application of automation technologies, techniques, and processes enhances the productivity, reliability, and speed of many tasks that were previously performed by humans.

There is full utilization of automation technologies by the developed countries, but within the Asia Pacific region, the countries including India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are at risk and are least prepared for the upcoming motion of automation. On the other hand, Japan, Singapore, and Australia are prepared in the best way possible.

To be particular, India ranks fifth in terms of the effect of automation and ninth in terms of their level of preparedness for the effect. Due to larger employment shares in agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, the country is likely to face a great impact generated by automation.

The construction industry is most likely to be the one to face the hardest hit by automation across all Asia Pacific countries. This is because construction industries involve a high proportion of routine and manual tasks. In India, the construction sector is the most likely to be automated, but it is the fifth most vulnerable, ahead of Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and the Philippines.

After Bangladesh, India's mining sector has the second-highest risk of impact generated from automation technology.  This is because of its relatively low skill requirements, its high degree of routine and manual tasks, and the use of a direct physical activity to operate machinery.

Automation provides opportunities for new, more meaningful types of work as it replaces monotonous or repetitive manual tasks, but the state of preparedness of countries and industries will decide whether they benefit from these advances.

Increasing awareness of the need to adapt the technology, funding industry-specific programs for digital transformation, and investing in learning programs are vital steps that should be taken to utilize the benefits and omit the risks.