American Economist, Professor Paul Michael Romer Praises India's Digital Revolution

New Delhi: American economist and Nobel Laureate Professor Paul Michael Romer, during his visit to India, praised the country's digital revolution, acknowledging the government's crucial role in transforming the lives of its citizens. Professor Romer highlighted how India's approach to digital innovation stands out globally, particularly in its ability to bridge economic divides and benefit all sections of society.

"Well, this is what makes the digital revolution in India so interesting, is that it's been used by the government to actually provide benefits to all members of society. It hasn't just created benefits for the lucky few. And this, I think, is very different from most other countries around the world. So I think the success here in India is unique, and other countries can learn from it," Romer stated, praising the advancements in India's digital landscape.

Discussing initiatives such as UPI, Aadhaar, DigiLocker, and DigiYatra, Romer remarked that these innovations have made everyday life more efficient and accessible. He emphasised that India's success offers valuable lessons for other nations, particularly those in the Global South, showing how countries can shape their own digital futures.

"I think one of the first things is that the other countries in the digital south should say to themselves, if India can do it, we can do it too. Countries need to have the confidence and the ambition to try something that hasn't been tried before, the way India did by creating the Aadhaar number. So other countries could copy and learn from India's experience, but they should also tell themselves, we don't have to depend on rich countries. We may not even want to let the rich countries be the ones who are in charge, because they may not lead to the kinds of improvements in the quality of life that we really want for our citizens," Romer explained.

Addressing concerns about India's ability to implement sweeping digital reforms, Romer pointed out that success is not determined by size, citing examples of countries like China, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea.

"What matters is a country which has the capacity to decide what it wants to do, and to go where it wants to go. And that's what India did with digital services. They decided how they wanted to do it, they did it, and they've succeeded hugely," he added.

Reflecting on the role of the government, Romer noted that India's hands-on approach contrasts with the more laissez-faire stance seen in Western nations. He emphasized that government leadership was key to India's digital progress.

"I think the role of the government is pivotal, and this is the lesson from the Indian success. In the United States, in the West, we've generally had a much more hands-off kind of laissez-faire market solution. Without the kind of cooperation between the government and the private sector, what we've seen in these other countries is that the digital revolution hasn't generated the benefits that it could have, that many of us first anticipated when these new technologies came on the scene," Romer said.

Drawing parallels with the development of safe air travel, Romer explained that government innovation is often necessary for private sector success.

"This is not a new lesson. Think back to the amazing discovery of the airplane. We didn't get safe air travel because we said, let's just let the market take care of air travel, air safety, or air traffic control. We had government leadership and government innovation and government discovery about how to actually run something as complicated as an air traffic system safely and move people all over the world. So there was a time in the West where we knew how to use the government to create the conditions where then private airlines and other private operators could operate. But we've lost that insight in the digital world. We've just stayed back. And the countries that have succeeded, like India, have been ones where the government went back to that older tradition and said, well, let's do it again," Romer concluded.