My wife and I are here in India after some 4 years and the changes here are significant.

The digital revolution here is frankly mind boggling. The acceleration in it between the last time we visited and now is so visible and amazing.

Mobile Phones – it appears everyone has a phone and not just that, they have a good understanding of how to use the apps etc. You see several walking in n the streets with earphones and talking on the phone or listening to music. Whats different this time around is that they all look like smartphones, which are not cheap here. But most of importantly the street vendors seem experts at this stuff! What an equalizer this is across the various population!

Digital Currency – The ubiquity of this is very impressive. You can use one of several apps to pay for the services that once relied on  hard cold cash. Another problem in India has always been having the right denomination of cash because it would seem that no vendor had enough cash to return the change due to you. They always wanted exact change and you either never had or want to acquire small bills or coins. Now with an app like GPay it’s a piece of cake. Everyone accepts it and it seems to have become a norm! Only thing is you can’t tap and pay, in most cases they display a QR code and you scan it and pay.

Digital Entertainment – Only a few traditionalists and older folks seem to stick to live TV. Smart TVs are everywhere and many prefer to stream from channels like  Disney+Hotstar or Netflix. And there is a LOT of content available. This is also true for live TV. So many news channels, so many channels with loud and screaming participants, so many religious channels, sports etc etc. I gave up scanning!

Infrastructure – Of course none off these can work if the infrastructure is not there. It is. At least the way I saw it in a few major cities and towns I have been, it is a hodpodge of  wires running all over and some electronics mixed in. I am sure that there are folks who know about this to of be able to support their customers. I’m thinking back to our wiring through conduits and patch panels and such organizations and how despite this we have so many issues tracking down problems. Then Ii look at this and can only marvel. If only It India had waited for a more orderly infrastructure they will be years behind!

Food Delivery – This was very popular during COVID but it appears that this has become a lifestyle for many post-COVID. Because of the culture (forget those who like and can afford  expensive western style dinners), Indians prefer to eat food that are made fresh and are hot (temperature wise). Delivery makes it a bit hard on these. But they have worked hard on the temperature part, but some foods like Dosas don’t retain their form or crispiness. I’m sure those who order in know which ones are best to order and which to avoid. There are very traditional south Indian homemade meals that you can order now to have it delivered. We were eagerly looking forward to doing it except there is a minor detail we didn’t know – You need to order it the previous day by 6:00 p.m.

Unfortunately we have not been able to benefit from some of this. The reason is, we decided to retain our US number while here. Though it is not that cheap compared to getting a local SIM card, with so much dependence on our phone for two factor authentication and such, this was an easier choice.

What this means is we cannot use GPay. US version does not have some of the capabilities such as pay by scanning a QR code. Also, not all places accept US credit cards attached to a GPay. I just wish they plug this gap. This also prevents us from ordering food delivery and calling a cab using apps like Ola or Uber. Thankfully, a relative has loaned us their older smartphone and we use it, except now I have to carry two phones!

Once upon a time there was such a gap in a lot of things between those of us who migrated to foreign countries and those who chose to live here. The gap has narrowed considerably in many dimensions such as financially, access to information and materials etc. All thanks to the Internet and the worldwide digital revolution. It is just that India has taken it and run with it far more than some of the other countries!