India as an Information Technology Giant

Is India an IT superpower? Unfortunately, there is not much of truth in it. The reason is that the actual ground realities are not visible to anyone because the truth is swept under the carpet. It is very convenient to do so because the bosses and the media are hand in glove. Each time I see one of their ilks making forceful and forward looking statements, I have a reason to call their bluff. The IT industry comprises of multitude of companies offering consultancy services or call centers. The apex body is NASSCOM (National Association of software and Service Companies). This is more like a trade union with an official sounding name. NASSCOM has friends in the media. Hence its very easy to deflect the attention from the problems that plague the industry .I have never come across any business magazine or newspaper that has laid bare the truth about the innards of this ghetto.

It can be worst-case scenario described as one. This is because the salaries on board are far less than what a techie elsewhere would be drawing .These are in fact glorified sweatshops that have spawned all over. If Nike and Adidas are doing the same, drawing on the lower salaries paid to the third world countries; these IT companies are no different in employing cyber coolies. However, they feed on the “intellectual capital”. Despite the presence everywhere, these companies have not made an appreciable dent over the employment scenario. The major reason is the job attrition that remains a high on an average of 44%. This means that almost 44% of the people joining in the first year leave the company. Surely, there must be something wrong somewhere.

The companies have started of innovative schemes to lure back the same employees that have left the industry. However, increasingly burns out cases are frequent. Who has the right to feed on the same? However, in the current euphoria Indian IT is considered as a superpower.

Now, for the bitter reality. India has the least PC penetration in the world. The sad fact is that the taxes which remain so high on the computer components. In the previous budget, the Finance minister gave a sop for reducing the prices. However, an analysis of the same revealed that it was merely eyewash. For an effective IT policy, it should envisage almost zero duties on the computers .If you cannot make it cheap, what is the use of crying yourself hoarse.

The internet access remains a bugbear. I have often felt frustrated about the pathetic access, which plagues this country. Insofar there is no ISP has willingly stuck out its neck and gave a cheap and simple access. I had earlier mentioned that corporates are able to extract deals that help them to penalize the service providers in the event of downtime. Such luxury for the home users is unthinkable. In fact, it is as if these companies are doing us a big favor by providing connectivity. In this hoopla, how has this affected the common man on the street? I am sorry to say but in no positive manner whatsoever. However, dialup remains the main mode of access when the world is talking of broadband. Dial up that sucks big time. I have had frequent disconnections each time (BSNL) and no complaint resolution. Broadband access is very different. The recent launch of broadband by BSNL was as if a baby strangled before it could gasp for breath. Why is it that these people like to sit over the infrastructure that is created out of public funds? It’s not to say that the entire corporation has a hung up attitude. The fact remains that the lowermost level of staff is still coy about the fact that their jobs are safe. Making them accountable for the lapses would surely go a long way in changing the situation somewhat.

The optic fiber has reached in majority of homes across US. This is not the way here in India. The broadband penetration remains awful. The recent statistics indicated that it is to the tune of 0.04%. However, despite the announcement of broadband policy, it has not made any difference to the bosses at all. So much for being an IT superpower!

The fact of the matter is that the authorities would like to keep the issue at status quo. In the past 5 years that I have been tracking this industry, there has not been a commendable action on ground. Further, the fat cats seem to enjoy tax-free dollars that come with the outsourcing. This has not resulted in the increase in spending in this country nor have they contributed effectively to the nation building. If employment given by the size of InfoSys or Wipro is any indication, it is still a cause of concern. I guess the CEOs of these firms seem to be poster boys with media fawning on them. They seem to hang on their every word as if their life depended on it. How much of it is paid exposure, which remains a secret. I have a reason to believe that there is a huge market for media management. Exclusive press leaks for friendly journalists or jet setting on the companies accounts are few of the rewards. All you have to do is to elevate these sweat shops and make them venerable.
The coincidences cannot be ignored. This also reflects the need to be aware of the reality, which is far from visible. We need to be vigilant that whatever media is offering for mass consumption; not to be taken on face value.

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This post was submitted by Dr. Abhishek Puri on the Broadband Blog on Techwhack.