Major parts of the tech ecosystem are still missing that can up India’s dismal global rank in the digital economy
By Sanjay Gupta
I often ponder over the incongruities and contrasts that define—or mess up—India. A Merc and a bullock-cart jostling for space on its dusty roads, disheveled surroundings of the exotically named gated communities in the so-called Millennium City (Gurgaon), and suchlike.
There are others, of course, who have had their share of not just such pondering but wondering and plodding as well. To cite an example, let me mention Sam Pitroda and the state of India’s ICT infrastructure in the same sentence. From what I could gather recently from listening to India’s famous telecom maverick and policy-maker, India is nowhere near its oft-stated ambitions in technology.
Speaking at the release of a MAIT-KPMG report on challenges and potential in increasing India’s PC penetration, a visibly “traveled and tired” Pitroda minced no words in reflecting the true state of Indian ICT. Consider this stat: India ranks 68th in the Networked Readiness Index (among 144 countries) published by INSEAD and World Economic Forum (Finland tops the list and Burundi sits at the bottom).
He also said that Indians are fond of talking about the 70-80 billion dollars worth of software and services exports, but not many mention the steep rise in import of ICT hardware. While software export growth is slowing down, hardware import is sprinting ahead to reach upward of $300 billion by 2020. There is a fear that the rising import bill can cause an uphill balance of payments problem for India.
The MAIT-KPMG report suggests some measures to increase the CAGR in sales of PCs from the current 6% to 18% which, it argues, will generate additional GDP contribution of about $10.6 billion and employment for more than 1 lakh people.
In my opinion, steps like further reduction in duties, tax incentives for PC purchases and awareness campaigns are useful, but the critical need for India today is a robust ICT ecosystem. One that comprises large chip manufacturing units, world-class ports, excellent transport and logistics, incentives for manufacturing, and ICT infrastructure for domestic consumption.
We have parts of the ecosystem in an established and growing mobile telephony and relatively cheap labor. Pitroda also mentioned that the National Optical Fiber Network is going to connect 2.5 lakh village panchayats all over the country. But the big question is, When will the rollout be completed and how will we create value for the masses through the network? (“You cannot send enough emails” to consume a high-capacity network, quipped Pitroda.)
Needless to say, several parts of the ecosystem are either pot-holed or completely missing (It is well-known how the fab dreams of India have repeatedly turned out to be nightmarish.)
So the question—When is India going to move from reports on IT potential to one on real success?—continues to be in my list of ponderables.
– Sanjay Gupta
Editor, Express Computer
