New Delhi: India was supposed to take forward 5G trials in the country earlier this year but due to the coronavirus outbreak, the trials have been postponed for the time being. At a time when India along with a major chunk of the world is locked-down, analysts believe technology can help us beat the crisis and stand up again.

Smart technologies like 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), could be implemented to develop efficient crisis management solutions in India. These tech solutions could reduce the impact of any natural or man-made problem to a bare minimum, Indian market research firm techARC said in its recent report.

The researchers have prepared a “roadmap” for smart tech-based crisis management in the country, which is divided into three phases – critical, essential and drivers -- which specifically pinpoint to services that could be managed using advanced tech efficiently.

These services include utilities, securities, savings, food processing, logistics and manufacturing, among others.

Faisal Kawoosa, the chief analyst at techARC, took to Twitter and shared a graphical representation of the different services which could majorly benefit from fresher technologies.

“The government can fast track the adoption of these transformational technologies, which not only helps in achieving the digital economy goals but also reduces the opportunity cost for the slow or delayed adoption of such technologies,” techARC says in its report.

Currently, India is under a strict 21-day nationwide lockdown as a precaution against the further spread of Coronavirus. The infection has already affected 5,734 people in the country, and resulted in the death of 166, the federal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare noted on Thursday.

Kawoosa, however, asserts that “a country can never be paused”.

“There are technologies like 5G and IoT available which can be blended to create a crisis management system, ensuring the functioning of several services and the supply of products in such extraordinary times,” he said.

As a recommendation to the government, the report has highlighted that amid the current circumstances, when over 1.3 billion Indians are locked up in their homes, the smart tech-powered digital economy is expected to witness a boom.

The technologies could fuel an automated end-to-end supply chain for sellers and consumers with a minimal chance of illegality and failure.

India has already seen a sharp rise in the adoption of new technology amid an immense crisis. For instance, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised bigger currency notes of in India in 2016 to stem corruption.

At the time, banks and ATMs quickly ran out of cash, leaving urban Indians with no other choice than to activate their online banking and smartphone apps to facilitate digital transactions for day-to-day use. Over three years later, today India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based digital payment platforms are being applauded by several countries around the globe.

Smitten by advanced technologies, the Government of India has been aiming to incorporate digital means across multiple sectors in the country in the last several years.