'Digital technology can add $101 bn to India GDP by 2020'

Increasing application of digital technologies can help India's GDP to grow by $101 billion by 2020, global consultancy major Accenture said.

However, China leads the pack with digital technology projected to contribute $410 billion to its economy. Among emerging economies, India comes second, closely followed by Brazil ($97 billion).

Globally, India is ranked fourth after China, US ($365 billion) and Japan ($114 billion) on this front, a study conducted by Accenture showed.

The study is based on the Accenture Digital Density Index, which has taken into account 50 indicators such as the volume of transactions conducted online, the use of cloud or other technologies to streamline processes, and the pervasiveness of technology skills in a company, among others.

As per the study, a ten-point improvement in digital density over five years would lift annual GDP growth rates in advanced economies by 0.25 percentage points, and by 0.5 percentage points in emerging economies.

The increased use of digital technologies can boost productivity for the world's top 10 economies and add $1.36 trillion to their total economic output in 2020.

"As companies become more digitally enabled, so digital density should rank alongside access to natural resources, a good transportation system, and skilled people in their list of location criteria," Accenture's Strategy, Digital Strategy MD Bruno Berthon said.

The study pitched for building more digital markets, running enterprises digitally, making key factors of production such as land, capital, talent, plant, and property accessible via digital technology and fostering the adoption of digital business model.

PTI