In the recent edition of BW Dialogue, Ajit Mohan, Vice President and MD, Facebook India spoke about the unprecedented speed of digital transformation in India and the country’s role in the global digital play.

The growing digital economy in India is envisioned to reach a value of nearly $1 trillion by the year 2025. From MNCs to government bodies to start-ups, digitalisation is making Indian companies future-ready to take advantage of opportunities and overcome challenges. 

BW Businessworld organised BW Dialogue with Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India in conversation with Dr Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor in Chief, BW Businessworld and exchange4media Group to understand the unprecedented speed of digital transformation in India and the country’s role in the global digital play.

Mohan’s work spans across the private and social sectors around the world, with a particular focus on how technology can improve lives. Speaking about his experience of the last 100 days, he said “As a country, we are going through tough times, it’s tough for India to fight at economic front and healthcare front. Facebook has joined hands with the Government of India in making sure that people have access to accurate health information.”

He informed that Facebook has created a COVID hub that gives people one-click access to all the right kind of information. 

Mohan mentioned that India is in a phase of digital transformation and said, “If you look at the last 5 years digital plays a particular role in transforming India. No country, not even China has gone through a period wherein 4 years we have seen maybe 500 million people come online and have access to affordable high quality mobile broadband. Jio has played a pioneering role in it.”

He added that as an American tech company, Facebook values that India is an open democratic country. He said that Facebook thrives on the openness of the internet in the country.

Talking about the much loved app Instagram’s growth and influence in the country, he said, “The growth of the app is just phenomenal. Instagram is deeply rooted into India and plays a major role in defining and shaping culture, it has been extremely famous for IGTV’s short videos.”

According to the Facebook MD, the idea of launching Instagram reels was in the box for a long time and this was the perfect time to implement it. He added, “Instagram has grown rapidly in public narrative, we saw more momentum and a billion users. I am excited for reels because now global big stars can come forward and open doors for new comers.” 

He advised that the youth today should have openness and learning agility which can enable them to be good leaders and make an impact in the digital economy of the country.