India’s common man’s first encounter with anything computer was perhaps occasioned when Indian Railway introduced online booking of long-distance train tickets. Then came computerization in nationalized banks where even small account holders could get their passbooks updated by the ubiquitous machines.
Initial resistance to computers – especially by left trade unions – soon melted into unprecedented euphoria in favor of computer literacy. Today computer education is made almost compulsory in schools, which means in another ten years’ time a large number of young Indians, who are fortunate to study in schools, will be fully conversant with computers.
If this has been a remarkable achievement, credit must go to rapid spread of Internet, and of course the tireless endeavors of IT companies. Yet when the turn comes to do some number crunching in order to evaluate how IT has benefited the country’s economy, not enough figures are available for easy consumption.
It is to allay these doubts that Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani’s address at the 3rd LSE Asia Forum in New Delhi Dec 7 assumes importance. To oft-repeated skepticism that IT’s advance in India is not commensurately linked with growth in the country compared to what IT biggies are doing in other countries, Nilekani gave some concrete examples to prove otherwise.
Share trading for example is now paperless and completely above board, thanks to efficient software that has made it possible. The days are gone when brokers could manipulate rates and also charge hefty fees. Banks and intermediaries who act between the stock exchange and individual customers have facilitated the entire process of buying and selling of shares and fund transfer between accounts, and all this has been made possible with the help of software only.
Explosive growth of mobile telephony is another excellent example of IT application. Those who know about VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) will readily acknowledge how voice and data communication on Internet has become easier over time. Popularity of free service by Skype, the proprietary peer-to-peer VoIP network, acquired by eBay a year back, is a case in point.
Indeed, the mushrooming of BPO companies in India has come about only because of superior digital communication that has in one stroke brought Birmingham and Atlanta closer to our home than we could ever imagine earlier.
Engineering and pharmaceutical companies that use high-end software for top-class research works are other examples of IT’s supremacy. But since common people will not be able to appreciate this, Nilekani reveals an ace from his arsenal that is more easily understandable.
Which is that the central government’s revenue department has installed powerful software that can readily inform details about tax evasion. With its help, the central tax revenue has risen by over 35% in the first 6 months of this financial year.
Well, while you and me will forthwith proceed to cling to our pockets so as not to let any more ‘pilfering’ by the tax authorities, the taxman can surely afford a broad enough smile at such windfall. Now perhaps we’ll never complain that IT hasn’t brought its share of advantage for us. Shall we?
Related reading: IT and Growth
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