Aggarwal also supported the government’s decision to offer tax incentives to global EV manufacturers, including Tesla, through the new EV policy, saying it is important for India to attract all kinds of investments, and established global players will help in the development of the industry. Electric Vehicle Ecosystem in the country.
The group’s newly listed entity, Ola Electric, aims to make India a global electric vehicle (EV) hub, but the country has to invent an energy and EV transition paradigm for itself based on its needs as the world cannot achieve a sustainable future without India, he added.
“There is a global technological transition going on and AI is a very important technology of the future and we in India need to lead this process. If we look at the current situation, I think we are still adopting technological paradigms from others, especially in the digital world,” Aggarwal said, explaining why the Ola group had set up AI startup Krutrim last year.
One of the things at Krutrim is to build AI models on Indian data, which is more in tune with Indian use cases, Indian paradigms, he said, adding, “We are building our own AI, on our own cloud, on our own chip.”
Even though India currently produces 20 percent of the world’s digital data, he lamented that the country does not own all of the data, as 80 percent of it is stored outside, then processed in AI and “brought back to India and sold to us in dollars.”
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Asked about concerns about AI leading to job losses, he allayed apprehension by saying that the technology boom created jobs in India when people feared computers would take away jobs, and AI is a similar tool. “AI is not going to replace anyone. Maybe that future is a few decades away… We don’t need to worry about that future now. We need, as a country, to see that AI is going to amplify productivity. If we don’t jump on the bandwagon, we will be left behind…” he said.
In his view, Aggarwal said the way forward is for India to become an expert in the technology of the future.
“Future technologies bring with them the jobs of the future and the supply chain of the future. And if we are global leaders, we are the market that adopts them the fastest.” Future technologies “The jobs of the future will be created in India, the supply chains of the future will be created in India. This is the only way… If we focus on protecting the past, we will remain uncompetitive,” he added.
Sharing his views on job creation in India, Aggarwal said, “I actually think the private sector has to do the bulk of job creation. The government’s job is to create the enabling environment, create the fundamentals, help correct imbalances wherever they are, be it trade imbalances etc., and incentivise wherever needed, like PLI schemes.”
Government measures such as employment-linked incentives will also incentivise private industry, he said, adding: “But fundamentally, the private sector needs to step up its efforts and do more.”
Asked if the government is doing enough to create such an ecosystem for the private sector, Aggarwal said: “I am not in the government so I want to focus on ourselves. Is the private sector doing enough? I think we can all do more and I agree. We all need to do more.”
Responding to a question on his view on the government’s decision to extend the tax concession that companies like Tesla have been demanding from India, he said: “It is very important for India to attract all kinds of investments, especially (from) leading global companies.”
“Tesla is a leader in its category. The more companies like these invest in India, the better it will be for the country and, more broadly, for the industry as well.”
He further said, “The (EV) ecosystem, including my company, will benefit from this, because it will raise the bar of expertise, excellence, talent, everything…” On the newly listed entity Ola Electric, he said, “Our mission at Ola Electric is really to make India a global EV hub.”
The company will build products like electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers that Indians need so that the country can invent an EV and energy transition paradigm for itself, different from the current global solution to sustainability that focuses on luxury electric cars, Aggarwal added.
On Ola Consumer, he said the ride-sharing mobility sector is quite profitable, while it is investing in the new e-commerce space for which it has partnered with ONDC.
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