BCAS President CA Mihir Sheth’s Message for the Month of January 2023

The new year is here to welcome us, and so are the several new technologies that are knocking on our door to bring about massive disruption in life soon. Every beginning implicitly means the end of the old, – however discomforting it is. Over the years of human evolution that we have witnessed, change was slow, gradually impacting the way we lived. However, that was a way back then. Since the last decade, we are all subjected to such a rapid pace of change that disruption has become a way of life than an exception. These disruptions are brought about through innovations made by a few individuals who refuse to accept limitations; who are keen to relook at the challenges and find a solution which can change the paradigm. Years ago, disruption was a word with strong negative connotations, and today it has become the fulcrum of creativity and the springboard to innovation.

Let me talk about a few of the recent disruptions that will change our way of living.

In the arena of energy, scientists in California have crossed a mega milestone by successfully replicating the power of the Sun in the laboratory. – What it means is that for the first time, more energy can be released than what has been consumed. This breakthrough is a leap ahead for the world in accessing green energy without any radioactive by-products. Using universally abundant hydrogen, an almost limitless, carbon-free supply of energy is possible. In a world dictated by energy-rich countries and companies, this is indeed a giant game-changer, with huge political and economic implications ahead.

In early December, the Artificial Intelligence powered, dialogue-based chatbot – ChatGPT was unleashed, garnering 1 million users in just 5 days. The bot has the remarkable ability to understand and respond in natural language, with incredible accuracy and creativity. It aptly demonstrates the increased ability of machines to imitate humans. With Machine Learning, this ability will escalate drastically…which could lead to some horror-story scenarios, in which machines could enslave humans. For the time being, these new-generation chatbots with their enormous power to process humongous amounts of data will become our personalised, all-knowing teachers…and give engineers at google and other search engines some sleepless nights!

5G is expected to re-invent the way we work, play and live, but most significantly, it will give a huge impetus to the adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. High speed and low latency are the twin hallmarks of 5G that will have huge potential to transform industries. Shop floors with robotics and automated assembly lines will be able to connect seamlessly and streamline production with greater efficiency. Healthcare is another sphere that will benefit immensely from 3D imaging, advanced diagnostics, and wireless connections to robotic surgical tools in near-real time. The Internet of Things will also get a huge shot in the arm, as more devices can get connected, be it wearables, smart refrigerators, autonomous cars or just a laptop, to name but a few.

Moving to finance, we have in Unified Payment Interface (UPI) a disruption that has become an outstanding success, beating the best in advanced countries too. Launched in 2016, to move people away from the inconvenience of cash and the menace of black money, UPI has been widely adopted by banks, fin-techs, merchant establishments and the public. Thanks to UPI, many Indians today no longer carry a wallet in their pockets – but a wallet in their smartphones!

According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI reported transactions amounting to Rs 10.72 lakh crore in August 2022 alone. In FY22, UPI processed more than 46 billion transactions amounting to over Rs 84 lakh crore. In comparison, debit card spending stood at Rs 7.3 lakh crore in FY22, while credit card spending stood at Rs 9.7 lakh crore that same year. Not surprisingly, India has become the acknowledged leader in digital payments…and UPI has become a major disruptor.

Are we ready? Will we be able to accept the increased pace of disruption? I guess we have no choice but to evolve – physically, mentally and emotionally. We will need to grow the wings to soar with disruption.