MILLENNIALS, those born after 1982, are set to inherit the benefits of a vast shift towards digitization in India. One-third of the population is due to be Millennials by 2025, which gives this group a huge influence on the future of the country's economy and digital entrepreneurs a huge share of the wealth created by a vast generational shift.
According to Morgan Stanley, "India is on track to become the youngest country in the world by 2020, with a median age of 29." Among BRICS countries, only India is experiencing an increase in the number of people making up its working-age population.
The huge potential for growth through digitization of the Indian economy has sparked claims that, when the BRICS countries are compared, favours India as the most important emerging economy placed even above China.
China is one country which, like many others, is struggling to prepare for a declining work-age population. China is not only experiencing a decline in that section of its population but is also facing whatever economic consequences will arrive at its door following a credit-fuelled boom which has propped up much of the world’s economy since 2008.
India has no such problem, and Millennials could well be the most influential disruptive force in the economy as broadband spread across Indian infrastructure and mobile devices become the primary point of access for goods.
The chain reaction set off by the dominance of companies such as Flipkart and Amazon India has huge potential - remember, consumers are then going to apply for credit, they need the goods they buy online to be delivered to them and they are then likely to supplement the purchase of their main goods with add-ons such as accessories.
So the most important generation of entrepreneurs and consumers for India’s economic future are currently growing in number, which only makes their potential clout larger and larger.
It also means there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for business-minded and entrepreneurial Indian Millennials among this age group who decide to make it their mission to help push digitization along.
The rapidly increasing influence of mobile-optimized access to services and goods will create new opportunities for those who wish to build businesses riding the digitization trend. The country already has 370 million social media users, and Facebook alone believe their Indian user number will increase to 319 million by 2021.
Morgan Stanley has forecast that India's economy will begin to undergo major changes from 2018, and will leapfrog from the world's 7th largest economy to the third largest by 2027.
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