By Prof. Samitha Hettige

President JRJ as Minister of State consulted Indian Economist B.R. Shenoy to know the best economic policy for SL in 1966. His advice to reverse the nationalizing trend started in 1956 wasn’t taken seriously but China observed all trends & liberalized its economy in 1979. Today  China is world’s 2^nd largest economy & Yangtze River Delta region is one of the most developed & innovative regions. Its technological innovations have achieved remarkable results supporting economic development nationally & globally. There are more than 660,000 5G base stations in the region which provides a solid networking foundation. The national computing power hub node in the delta is expected to further enhance computing power in the region providing stronger IT support for economic activities which include high speed passenger transport, river water management, & navigation in the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal which will provide convenient logistics & transportation methods for the region. Enterprises in the region benefit from e-commerce & Alibaba Co. is the best example with its strengths in cloud computing, big data, & AI etc. (Ref. YRDR stats).

2024 marks the 5^th anniversary of the issuance of the first batch of 5G licenses for commercial use. China is in transition from 5G to 6G. According to analysts, despite challenges, transition from 5G to 6G is expected to unlock new possibilities for future industries to enhance the prospects of smart living in its journey towards a ‘Xiaokang’ (moderately prosperous socialist society) by 2049.

By April 2024, China operated approx 3.75 million 5G base stations (approx. 26 stations per 10,000 people). China’s 5G patent claims are more than 42% of global total. The 5G technology in; mining, electricity, healthcare, R&D, design & manufacturing have increased overall efficiency to very high outputs. In 2020; China Mobile established a 5G base station at an altitude of 6.5km on Mount ‘Qomolangma’ (highest altitude 5G station in the world) & completed the first underground 5G network in Shanxi (deepest underground 5G network in the world) (Ref. China telecom).

5G for economic development.

So far 5G applications are used in 71 out of 97 key economic categories in China. Approx 94,000 5G commercialization projects are successfully operating. The 800 million plus 5G mobile phone users in China make a 52% of the global total. Commercialization of 5G has accelerated economic output by 773 billion USD since 2021 (Ref. MIIT). Above developments attracted international brands such as Tesla to China. Its Shanghai plant is the 1^st Giga-factory outside USA. With a capacity of producing a car in just 40 seconds, in 2023 it delivered 947,000 vehicles & more than 50% of the 1.8 million plus Tesla electric vehicles globally delivered in 2023 were from Shanghai (Ref. China economic stats). Man behind Tesla Elon Musk is known for using technology for economic development. He is also the key personality behind Starlink. 

Starlink

Starlink provides satellite based internet connectivity to areas of the planet with no proper networking infrastructure using approx 6000 small satellites to provide internet facilities at competitive prices. It’s a fully owned subsidiary of US based SpaceX. Starlink provides coverage to more than 70 countries (Ref. Media). If SL is in a position to benefit from such services, it will enable to host 5G & even 6G to support; industrial efficiency, connectivity & ensure the right to information of a wider audience. Increasing industrial efficiency to come out of the crisis is the need of the hour. Grassroots who struggled to educate children climbing mountains & trees seeking signals for online education (during lockdown) may understand it better than those who terrorize student lives, tried blocking FDIs & foreign remittance inflows. They may use below developments to increase brain power.

Injectable, wireless sensor for brain signal monitoring.

Huazhong University of Science & Technology in China & Nanyang Technological University, Singapore designed an implantable miniaturized sensor capable of conducting wireless ultrasonic monitoring of signals within the human skull. Measuring 2 mm in size, it can be implanted into the intracranial space using a puncture needle. Once injected, hydrogel deforms in response to physiological changes resulting in shifts of the peak frequency of the reflected ultrasound waves. Animal experiments on pigs have proved that the sensor is excellent in sensing capabilities (Ref. journal Nature). Every citizen has a responsibility to develop conflict prevention brain capacity & contribute to economic development without spreading hate fragrance. It will attract FDIs not only from the Belt & Road Initiative of China but from all corners of the world.

The fabled Musk deer searches the world over for the source of the scent which comes from itself – Ramakrishna.