Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

Some of the SDGs are “stretched” goals, which will require a transformation of societies that is far deeper and faster than in the past. If they are to be achieved, these goals must leverage existing and widely deployed technologies, such as digital broadband, but also require new innovative services and improved reach of technological solutions; economic growth in a business-as-usual (BAU) context will not be sufficient for success. Hence, the broad application of information and communication technology (ICT) is a profound reason for optimism, since the rapid development of ICT-based services and systems offer the possibility for the needed deep transformation of the world economy and societies more broadly. ICT will play a special role in today’s resource-poor countries like India, a point strongly and cogently emphasized by the UN’s Broadband Commission.ICTs are “leapfrog” and transformational technologies, enabling all countries to close many technology gaps at record speed.Today, ICT in many parts of the countryis enabling transformation of the most expensive public services such as education, health care and advance developing countries’ economies such as agriculture, trade/e-commerce and transportation. This transformation needs to be scaled up. In future advances in ICTs—including mobile broadband, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and artificial intelligence, 3-D printing, and others—will provide the tools for additional, unprecedented advances in healthcare, education, energy services, agriculture, and environmental monitoring and protection.