“IT” DOES MATTER
Future of Information Technology
in India
Tapasya Patki Namarta Agarwal Swati Khurana Anushree Sharma Neha Dhanuka
B.Tech (IT), MSIT
GGSIP University, New Delhi
Information Technology, Government Initiatives, ITES, Digital Divide, Cyber Security
1. Introduction
Information Technology is demolishing territorial boundaries and integrating the world in a way never considered possible. India has established its credentials in the world in the field of Information Technology (IT). With simple and modest beginning in the form of Software Exports, the IT industry has spread its wings in various walks of life of an Indian citizen. Software export was typically in the form of providing the on site services of Computer Professionals from India. This has helped country to improve the foreign exchange reserves. It also satisfied the status requirement of Indian educated professionals of being termed as Non Resident Indian (NRI) / foreign returned personal etc. The initial enthusiasm of the private industry was further boosted through Government initiatives in the form of establishing Software Technology Parks (STPs) in the country (almost one STP per State). Both the Central and State Government had introduced special incentives for IT sector. Government had taken further interest in utilizing the benefits of IT for nation not only in the form of improving the Foreign Exchange reserves but also for the overall growth of economy as well as for social improvement.
Information Technology (IT) is a term that
encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use
information in its various forms (business data, voice conversations, still
images, motion pictures, multimedia presentations, and other forms, including
those not yet conceived). IT includes matters concerned with furthering
computer science and technology, design, development, installation, and
implementation of information systems and applications.A convenient term for
including both telephony and computer technology in the same word, IT is the
technology that is driving what has often been called "the information
revolution."
Thus the IT industry initiated the activities and with full support from Indian Government, India is in an envious position today in the world. It is a result of the combined effort of Private Sector Industries, Government Departments and the enthusiastic response from the citizens of the country. This report considers various facets of IT from national perspective. Authors discuss the possible potentials and challenges of Information Technology in the coming decade.
Government has played a very significant role in the IT in the following ways.
(i) Creating infrastructure set up to boost industry efforts in the form of Software Technology Parks
(ii) E-Governance i.e. providing support for citizens for Government Interface
(iii) Setting up of Community Information Centers on experimental basis
(iv) Enhancing the trained manpower strength to support IT revolution
(v) Enacting legislation to support the conducive environment for E-Commerce growth and curtailing the cyber crimes
(vi) Supporting technological advancements through Government funded activities in the country
Private establishments considered deployment IT for the following primary purposes.
(i) Improving the earnings through global opportunities in the field of IT.
(ii) Productivity Improvement for the industrial sectors
(iii) Industry association related activities
The application and impact of IT is so pervasive that it is effecting
issues as diverse as balance of payment, skill development, design competence,
mass media reach, industrial competitiveness, publication, health,
communication, transportation, financial infrastructure, industrial productivity,
managerial efficiency etc.
Government of India started encouraging software export activities as early as 1980 by way of providing incentives in the form of reduced or concession import duty for the computer hardware / software imported in the country for export of software. These efforts promoted the proper utilization of the trained educated manpower in the computer field to undertake software development for earning foreign exchange. Simultaneously, some private establishments considered it profitable to supply trained manpower for on site assignments at the clients’ work places in foreign countries. Initially, the focus was on USA as destination country. However, due to the growing impact of IT as realized in the early 1990s, the major step taken by Government of India was in the form of a facilitator for providing Infrastructure and associated support for business organizations. Thus, the Software Technology Park (STP) scheme was born to allow and establish the business organizations activities to undertake “off-site” assignments for software exports. Government’s greatest contribution in1990s was in the form of providing High Speed Data Communication facility at STP location along with computer systems hardware / software support. Further, the Government also extended Income Tax benefits / rebates to software export establishment to encourage the industry. The attractive feature of STP scheme was the High Speed Data Communication facility through Satellite System. Today, almost every State has a STP providing entrepreneurs the facility for Software export. IT as progressed in the 1990s onwards and with the dawn of Internet, there was a clear and distinct requirement to look at the Computer and Communications as a ‘merged’ technology rather than two isolated technologies. In order to give full encouragement to IT Government of India formed a single Ministry i.e. Ministry of Communications and Information Technology having Department of Information Technology and Department of Communication under its control.
Second major impact created
by Government was in the form of IT for Masses by way of E-Governance
initiative as well as by establishing Communications Information Centers in
some parts of the country. Government considered the need to ensure that the
benefits of its initiatives spread evenly and reach the under privileged
population groups as well. While the benefits of citizen services projects
reach the rich and the poor equally, IT projects aimed at improving the internal
efficiencies benefit the poor indirectly through better planning and targeting
of weaker section programs. Apart from this, the Government Programme objective
was also for IT to percolate to the middle class and people below the poverty
line. The Objective of achieving
Electronic - Governance (e-governance) goes far beyond mere computerization of
stand-alone back office operation. Information Technology should not be merely
used to automate process but as a strategic tool to simplify procedures and
revamp processes. The e-governance should aim to bring in the following
benefits:
(i)
Any-where any
time services to citizens
(ii) Improved accountability, responsiveness & transparency in Government functioning
(iii) Higher efficient Government machinery and system
Realizing the global trends in IT
and its impact on the population, Government established Community Information
Centers at selected States. Community
Information Centers (CICs) create an infrastructure environment to facilitate
activities amongst local communities and help indirectly towards
(i)
Promoting local
entrepreneurs development
(ii)
Improving &
enhancing economic participation
(iii)
Opening up new
avenues for raising the economic status of deprived sections of the society.
CICs also provide a unique opportunity by creating virtual Internet
communities, permitting older people as well as youngsters, to benefit from the
Information & Communications Technology (ICT) by way of sharing / utilizing
skills of old generation people. IT enables individuals and communities
(cultural, ethnic, shared interest and geographical) to enhance their social
and economic well-being and participate more actively in society.
Enterprise/employment creation, health, education/ learning, access to justice,
interactions with government, and personal contact between people are
increasingly being IT enabled.
In order to match the requirement of trained manpower in the field of
IT, Government initiated activities for improving as well increasing the
engineering as well as management students’ profile. This brought in an
increase in the number of student intakes in computer and IT branches in almost
all the engineering colleges. Government also set up new Institutes of
Information Technology (IIITs) at Hyderabad, Allahabad and Gwalior. This was in
addition to the extensive support to increase the number of Indian Institutes
of Technology (IITs). The Government opened up IITs at Guwahatti and converted
University of Roorkee into IIT Roorkee. These steps of Government have ensured
adequate number of trained and educated human resource to sustain the growth in
IT sector.
India is amongst few nations in the world that have been holding a proud status of having it's own Cyber Laws. In India, Information Technology Act (IT Act) has been enacted in the year 2000 to facilitate e-commerce, e-governance and other related activities. IT Act 2000 is an exhaustive legislation that has also provisions for handling cyber crimes. Such legislation has facilitated the growth of IT sector, both in domestically as well as internationally by way of creating a trust in IT through legislation system. ICTs have allowed the creation of a global marketplace where it is possible to access a wide variety of information, goods and services. ICTs offer numerous possibilities for developing countries to speed up their social and economic development. Development-oriented ICT applications include E-government (to improve public services), E-business, E-learning, and E-health. Indian IT Act 2000 has facilitated such activities. The success of e-commerce and e-government increasingly rests on there being e-citizens and e-communities that is ICT literate people and a "wired" country. E-citizens are ICT literate people with optimal access to ICT.
In order to face the challenges of technological advancements, Central
Government has set up many Research and Development establishments in the
country to undertake technology advancement as a prime charter. Center for
Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) is a R&D establishment engaged in
providing technological leadership in the field of IT. It has a successful
Supercomputing and high speed-computing programme that has raised the pride of
India. Further, CDAC has undertaken special projects of unique importance to
India as a nation like providing multilingual support in computing. Majority of
the benefits of IT revolution are considered to reach only to professionals and
other elite sections of society who are well versed with the working knowledge
of these computer systems that usually operate in English language. In a
diverse and multilingual society like India, a single language system can never
be successful without adequate support for vernacular computing. Web Content
Creation and Digital Libraries are efforts in this direction on a limited scale.
It is important to note that much before Microsoft thought of providing support
for Indian languages, CDAC, Pune had its multilingual software developed and
functioning for several applications including e-mail and web support.
Most of the Government support was provided by Central Government in the past. With the introduction of Department of IT in almost every state in the last 2-3 years, the IT sector is getting it's due prominence on a nationwide basis. This of course calls for focused approach at State Government as well as Central Government to avoid duplication of efforts and unnecessary expenditure.
3. Private Sector Activities
Private sector comprises of large-scale industries so also small & medium scale enterprises. The IT sector is viewed primarily from profit making angle. Many large industrial houses have adopted a policy of diversifying from traditional product line to IT driven systems. Thus, large industrial houses today comprise of migrated organizations as well as technology oriented establishments, eg, Wipro and Infosys respectively. The strategies, sectors and the priorities of these large-scale organizations vary a lot.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) view IT sector as a high growth area and accordingly enter into business opportunities of short and medium turn around time. This has given birth to IT Enabled Services (ITES) in the form of Medical Transcription, Call centers, Insurance Claim Processing, Back Office Operations, Digital Content Development etc. ITES require lesser engineering/computing skills as compared to professional application/system software development. India enjoys very strong brand equity in major world markets due to its growing and globally competitive software industry. India thus offers many advantages for providing ITES for major global companies. These include:
- Twelve hour time zone difference with the US
- Huge pool of English Speaking and computer literate graduate manpower
- Lesser manpower cost
- Government support and incentives for IT led industries
The proliferation of ITES and it's continuing demand led growth may well emerge to be a strong opportunity for India, both in terms of generating employment and export earnings. As per the projections of a survey done by NASSCOM, the ITES can generate about eleven lakh new jobs and earn revenue of Rs.81, 000 crores. [1]
Presently the following industry associations are active in India in the IT sector :
- NASSCOM
- MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology)
- ISPA (Internet Service Providers’ Association)
These industry associations play a very significant role in promoting IT by interacting with the Government as well as International Forums. Many problems like H1-B Visa (from USA) have been solved because of constant untiring efforts of NASSCOM. These associations also ensure proper conduct among the member companies for a healthy competition.
Information Technology Outsourcing is the contracting out of part or all of an organization’s IT activities. New trends have included operations, programming and technology planning. The main reason for IT Outsourcing is to gain immediate economic advantages for the company, usually through savings. Financial motivations aren’t first on business minds though strategic objectives are. Outsourcing can make it easier to downsize. Because we bring in outside help, and cut back on fixed salaries, the company becomes more variable. IT Outsourcing to tighter linking of strategy and IT. Knowledge, which usually flows slowly, can flow freely, and a company has more access to outside expertise and technology. Businesses receive information faster than other types of hierarchical communication, and the resources are endless. Outsourcing thus unlocks organizational structures. This unlocked IT organization can provide a better mechanism for costing user requests, prioritizing technology initiatives and controlling expenditures. Another goal that outsourcing takes on is reducing technological risk.
Some of the
problems IT outsourcing may encounter are loss of strategic control, risk of
technological obsolescence, limiting of long term flexibility, difficulty in
bench marking the initial contract, hostage to additional charges, high exit or
switching costs. Limited choice of vendors, the fixed nature of legal
contracts, legal exposure from dissatisfies former employees and cultural
conflicts. The people doing the outsourcing for the companies are sometimes the
life’s blood of that company. If the outsourcers want more money, then the
company is almost obligated to give that money. This is usually the case when
the contractors are bringing new technology into the system. High exit or
switching costs entail the switchover costs the company has to shoulder if it
decides to end the outsourcing and hire fulltime employees. It is important not
to put too many resources in the hands of the contractors. Limiting this will
ease the switchover costs. Legal issues also creep into the picture when a
company chooses to outsource. Some companies have problems with employees who
are not happy with their current arrangement or status. There tends to be a
high unionization due to such workers.
Finally, another important factor is related to the cultural conflicts.
What is expected in a certain culture may be different in another, resulting in
inner conflict and management problems. These variables have to be scrutinized
by the outsourcing company to emerge out successfully.
4. Digital
Divide and Related Issues
A fundamental change from an industrial to information-based society is taking place. This information revolution affects the way people live, learn and work and how governments interact with civil society. Unlike the industrial revolution of the last century, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) revolution has the potential to spread rapidly and touch every life. At the heart of this revolution is the power of Information and Communication Technologies that allows people to access information and knowledge instantaneously, anywhere in the world. ICT and IT are used mostly interchangeably. Identifying ways to help close the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" of access to the global information and communication network is an evolving challenge in the field of Information Technology.
The 'digital
divide' has created a knowledge gap between information rich and information
poor people, which has the potential to give rise to a new form of
'illiteracy.' The 'digital divide' promotes information and knowledge poverty
and limits the opportunities for economic growth and wealth distribution. ICTs
spur the creation of economic and social 'networks' of individuals and
communities. The power of these networks is their ability to connect diverse
groups by allowing them to access and exchange information and knowledge that
is crucial for their socio-economic development. Traders and entrepreneurs
benefit from ICTs through the opportunities created by promoting their
businesses nationally, regionally and globally.
IT Infrastructure
IT can contribute
in a powerful way to economic and social development and sustainable growth in
all countries. However, in most developing countries, the lack of
infrastructure and connectivity continue to be a challenge in the development
of the information society. In order to benefit from the opportunities ICTs
offer for development and prosperity it is essential that all of humanity have
access to them. For that reason, the establishment of public access points in
each community and the provision of low-cost access equipment and
interconnection are fundamental
Infrastructure is central in achieving the goal of digital inclusion,
enabling universal, sustainable, ubiquitous and affordable access to ICTs by
all, taking into account relevant solutions already in place in various parts
of the country, to provide access to remote and marginalized areas at regional
level.
a)
Government as well as State Government should encourage development policies in
order to support an enabling environment for the necessary investment in ICT
infrastructure and for the development of new services.
b) In the context of national e-strategies,
- Devise appropriate universal access policies and
strategies, and their means of implementation, in line with the indicative
targets, and develop ICT connectivity indicators.
-
Provide and improve ICT connectivity for all schools, universities,
health institutions, libraries, post offices, community centres, museums and
other institutions accessible to the public, in line with the indicative
targets.
-
Address the special requirements of the elderly, disabled, and other
disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, including by appropriate educational
administrative and legislative measures to ensure their full inclusion in the
Information Society.
c) Develop and strengthen national, regional
and international broadband network infrastructure, including delivery by satellite systems to help in providing the
capacity to match the needs of countries and their citizens and for the
delivery of new services ICT-based services. Support technical, regulatory and
operational studies to:
- Broaden access to orbital resources and global systems
standardization;
- Encourage public private partnership; and
- Promote the provision of global high-speed satellite services
d) In
order alleviate the challenges of illiteracy; develop affordable technologies
and non-text based computer interfaces to facilitate people’s access to ICT.
e) Undertake international research and development
efforts aimed at making available adequate and affordable ICT equipment for end
users.
Partnerships need to be developed to achieve common goals and deal with ICT-related issues. The public sector should explore ways to correct market failures and encourage competition to bring the information society to all, particularly in developing countries. The private sector has an important role to play in the investment in ICTs and governments should encourage their participation. Civil Society should work closely with communities to strengthen ICT initiatives. International organizations should assist in integrating ICTs in the development process. To take full advantage of the information society, it is important that ICT skills be improved. For that reason relevant education and training should be accessible at all levels, particularly to youth. E-learning strategies are needed to reach those without access to the formal educational system because of geography or personal circumstances.
The effective participation of all
stakeholders is vital in developing the Information Society requiring
cooperation and partnerships among all of them.
a) National e-strategies, including the necessary
human capacity building, should be developed taking into account different
national circumstances.
b) In developing and implementing national e-strategies, stakeholders
should take into consideration local, regional and national needs and concerns.
To maximize the benefits of initiatives undertaken, these should
include the concept of sustainability. The private sector
should be invited to engage in concrete projects to develop the Information
Society at local, regional and national levels.
c) Encourage a series of related measures, including among other things:
incubator schemes, venture capital investments (national and international),
government investment funds (including micro finance for Small Medium-sized and
Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), investment promotion strategies, software export
support activities (trade counseling), support of research and development
networks and software parks.
In order to benefit
fully from IT, everyone should have the necessary skills to utilize the
potentials of the upcoming IT gadgets (hardware / software/ firmware. ICTs can
contribute to achieving universal education worldwide, through delivery of
education and training of teachers, and offering improved conditions for
lifelong learning, encompassing people that are outside the formal education
process, and improving professional skills. This requires nation to
b)
Promote e-literacy skills for all, for example by designing and offering
courses for public administration, taking advantage of existing facilities such
as libraries, multipurpose community centres, public access points or and by
establishing local ICT training centres with the cooperation of all
stakeholders. Special attention should be paid to disadvantaged and vulnerable
groups.
c) Equip
young generation with knowledge and skills to use ICTs, including the capacity
to analyse and treat information in creative and innovative ways,to share their expertise and participate fully
in the Information Society.
d) Create
programmes for capacity building with an emphasis on creating a critical mass of qualified and
skilled ICT professionals and experts.
e) Develop pilot projects to demonstrate the
impact of ICT-based alternative educational delivery systems, notably for
achieving Education for All targets, including basic literacy targets.
f) Work on removing the gender barriers to
ICT education and promoting equal training opportunities in ICT-related fields
for women and girls. Early-intervention programmes in science and technology
should target young girls with the aim of increasing the number of women in ICT
careers. Promote the exchange of best practices on the integration of gender
perspectives in ICT education.
g) Empower local communities, especially
those in rural and underserved areas, in ICT use and promote the production of
useful and socially meaningful content for the benefit of all.
h) Launch education and training programmes,
where possible using information networks of traditional indigenous people[s],
which provide opportunities to fully participate in the Information Society.
Confidence, trust and
security are among the main pillars of the Information Society. The issue of security is
fundamental to the development of the information society as cyber-crimes such
as hacking, the spreading of computer viruses, and the misuse of personal
information pose serious threats to information-based economies. With the increase
of e-business and online transactions, protecting privacy and ensuring a secure
ICT infrastructure are important factors for a stable information society. This
involves Government support to
a) Promote cooperation among the governments at
the UN and with all stakeholders at other appropriate forum to develop
guidelines that enhance user confidence, build trust, and protect both data and
network integrity, considering the existing and potential threats to ICTs; and
address other information and network security issues
b) Detect and respond to cyber crime and misuse / abuse of ICTs by:
developing guidelines that take into account ongoing efforts in these areas;
considering legislation that allows for effective investigation and prosecution
of misuse; promoting effective mutual assistance efforts; strengthening
institutional support at the international level for preventing, detecting and
recovering from such incidents; and encouraging education and raising awareness
c) Create a trustworthy, transparent and non-discriminatory legal,
regulatory and policy environment.
5.Future Challenges and Potentials
Our industry is seeing a convergence of
policy issues involving the global nature of the information technology
industry. With a "jobless recovery," at least to date, economic
prosperity considered synonymous with high technology, and vocal IT workers
raising concerns about their futures and careers, policymakers are increasingly
focused on something that IT has raised for several years -- the global nature
of our industry. Though the US IT industry remains the world leader, its
overwhelming dominance is changing. The 9/11 incident in the US has had an adverse impact on the economic
scenario across the globe. The software export and ITES, which were heavily
dependent on the US markets for their revenue earnings, have suffered a setback
due to the same. About the same time, the DOTCOM hype met its inevitable end,
resulting into a disappointing phase in the IT sector.
The IT
industry is gradually recovering and the prospects appear to be highly
encouraging as per the market surveys conducted by various forecasting
agencies. Despite this fact, there has been a significant decrease in the
student intake in IT- related courses as the media has created a discouraging
impact on the society. The non-formal
courses offered by private institutions like NIIT, APTECH, as well as
Government recognised DOEACC courses are on the decline. However, this downfall
has not seriously affected the students who want to specialize in IT related
professional courses offered by engineering/science degree colleges.
A recent
paper titled “IT Doesn’t Matter” by Nicholas Carr [2] has received a negative
response from several Indian establishments. Mr. Carr has indicated that if IT
is viewed as a resource for infrastructure technology; the competitive
advantage ceases with time. It is however argued that patterns of corporate IT
spending indicates that greater IT expenditures rarely provide superior
financial results. It is important to note that Mr. Carr has not focussed on
the primary cause of not recognising the technological developments in other
non-electronic fields in the second half on twentieth century and their missing
deployment in the IT forefront.
IT security
is of utmost importance; however over hyping is equally dangerous. With grid
and utility computing concept taking practical shape through initiative of IBM,
Sun Microsystems, ORACLE and others, the PC-oriented IT security concept and
associated problems like viruses, hacking etc will be a passing phase. The Open
Source Software developed on LINUX is another untapped area for its full
potential and cognitive offloading software support at OS level is a major
challenge.[3]
India can
benefit by taking innovative initiatives to face the above challenges. By
efficient planning and successful implementation of these plans, we can emerge
as a major power in the field of Information Technology.
References:
1.
Ahuja Shiri (2000) – Information
Technology in India: The Shift in Paradigm, delivered at the “Where in the
World” Conference, Budapest Oct 24-25, 2000
2. Nicholas G. Carr (2003)- IT doesn’t matter. HBR at large, pp 41-49, Harvard Business Review, May 2003
3.
Patki A.B., Kulkarni M.D., Patki D.D.
(2003)- Software Development Paradigms for Community Informatics –
Technological Aspects, to appear in the proceedings of ItiRA-2003 Conference,
Dec 15-18, 2003, Queensland, Australia