Independence - a Journey, not a Day
75 years ago, India got political independence from its British rulers. It was a great achievement by the citizens and their leaders, and fills us Indians with patriotic joy. Even as we celebrate, I am pained by the numerous problems that we seek freedom from – poverty, illiteracy, racism, crime, corruption, climate change, and much more. Like our forefathers, we need the will of the citizens and some exemplary leaders to overcome these chains that continue to shackle us.
Political i ndependence was a single dimensional struggle and hence it was not difficult to create the desired momentum. Our current assortment of struggle are more complicated and multi-dimensional….which makes the task of creating the needed momentum much more difficult. What makes the situation even more difficult is that leaders working on each problem wish to portray their problem as the leading problem. Rather than collaboration, what we are witnessing is competition among the problems for the attention of the citizens, thereby leading to division of attention and of resources.
What does counter my pain is the fact that technology and finance are two streams that are working to holistically overcome all the challenges that I have listed. Both these streams are unifying rather than dividing. Let me share some examples.
The financial sector is making rapid gains in financial inclusion thereby fighting poverty. Fighting financial crime fights general crime and corruption. AI algorithms are reducing human bias in terms of approving loans and other financial checks.
Likewise for technology. It is helping trace criminals faster. Digital payments are pushing against cash and black money. Technology is replacing physical products with digital products, thereby cutting down on mining, drilling, de-forestation, etc. Digital is making basic necessities like education and healthcare more affordable and reachable in remote areas.
I would like to conclude that Finance and Technology are the new generation of leaders that will help us achieve new dimensions of independence. They are driven by millions of innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, fintechs and the like who wish to create a better world, and I salute them as I salute our freedom fighters.