Addressing the inaugural session of NASSCOM 2005, IT Minister, Dayanidhi Maran and Chief Minister of Maharashtra, VilasRao Deshmukh appealed to all IT companies to make IT viable for masses especially to the rural masses. NASSCOM 2005: India Leadership Forum kick-started in Mumbai on February 8, 2005. 

In his keynote, Dayanidhi said that there is need to invest in IT education at grass root level. "Taking IT to the masses should bridge the digital divide and since India is a multi lingual country, software companies need to make cost-effective applications in different Indian languages," he added. 

"There are still a host of areas that require our undivided attention, major pieces in the ICT industry puzzle that need to fit in and a significant number of market segments where our industry still needs to stake a claim and strengthen its credentials," he further added.

Speaking about Internet penetration in India, Dayanidhi said that Internet penetration needs to grow by leaps and bounds. Currently, the Internet growth in India is limited by low PC penetration, which in turn is inhibited by high prices of computer hardware. The government is working closely with the industry to ensure that PC costs come down rapidly and Internet access devices are within the reach of an ordinary citizen. 

Vilasrao insisted that the state IT policy is being revised to give a boost to the infrastructure and all hotspots including the airport would soon be well equipped to cater to the needs of all visitors coming and investing in Maharashtra. Earlier addressing the gathering, NASSCOM Chairman, Jerry Rao apart from his wish list, asked for better infrastructure that has always been a major cause of concern for IT and ITES companies.

There was another session to elaborate on how the Indian IT industry is preparing for growing on the global platform. NR Narayan Murthy, Chairman, Infosys Technologies said that the arrival of MNCs in India has increased competition, thus making the Indian firms perform better. He also added that the local companies have a greater probability of success if they adopt the global delivery model. While answering questions posed by the audience, he commented that SMEs can sustain themselves in the business if they have the ability to sense a change coming in the market, they can adapt to it and after that come out with a plausible solution with respect to the change. 

Further, Noshir Kaka, Partner, McKinsey & Co said that at a time when globally, the growth of IT companies is said to reduce by 50%, there will be a boom in the indian IT industry. He also emphasized on addressing the talent shortage that India is facing. 

CYBERMEDIA NEWS
MUMBAI

Page(s)   1