A New Era in the IT Ministry has started with Mr Arun
Shourie taking over as its Minister.
Ever since December 1999 when the ministry for IT was
formed, Mr Pramod Mahajan was the industry got a new focus. Initially with
Mr Dewang Mehta at the helm of Nasscom, the progress was swift and highly
noticeable. In the post Dewang Mehta period there was a an apparent slow
down in the activities of the IT department. As a result, Semi Conductor
Act remained in the "Draft Rules" stage and Convergence bill remained
still in the cold storage. Adjudicators are yet to be appointed under
ITA-2000 and CRAT is still to be constituted. The appointment of
Certifying Authorities also took more than the desirable time.
In the last few months however, there were a spate of
activities that indicated a renewed vigor in the regulatory side of the IT
Ministry with the launch of the draft Tele Medicine Guidelines and
working group activities on Cyber Security and Education. It appeared as
though the activity had percolated from the Policy making level to the
operational level.
Now the new Minister in charge would obviously take a
little time to understand the nuances of the Ministry. He is also saddled
with a crisis situation in the Telecom industry, which needs some
immediate attention. TRAI has thrown a challenge to the Minister with its
highly lopsided pricing policy which is openly anti people and pro
business.
Under these circumstances, observers in the IT sector
are concerned about the new policy orientation that Mr Arun Shourie may
initiate. Coming from the Disinvestment ministry which by its very nature
meant dilution of Public Sector interests in business and inviting private
sector participation, it would be interesting to note if Mr Arun Shourie
will be influenced by the mindset of the Disinvestment Ministry or will be
able to manage the dual roles effectively.
IT industry is one industry where India has an
opportunity to lead the world and not be dependent on global forces as we
do in say the Oil sector. We therefore need a "Leadership Strategy" for
the IT Ministry as opposed to the "Follower Strategy" in other sectors or
"Reconciliatory Strategy" which was required for the Disinvestment
Ministry.
As a potential leader in the Global IT market, we need
to be bold enough to initiate policies without looking for precedence. We
have in this industry indigenous capabilities that are globally
competitive. This has to be harnessed and strengthened.
We therefore need policies which are "India Centric"
which are in tune with the global trends but aimed at pursuing with a
single minded focus the vision of "India being the Emerging IT Super
Power".
In this connection, it is necessary to point out that
in the past we have failed to fully take care of the long term Indigenous
interest in the IT industry. The policy has been more Export Oriented
rather than encouraging local development.
The following aspects stand out in this regard for
immediate attention.
1. E-Governance Projects: To be "Functionality
Oriented" rather than "Investment Oriented".
2. Netpreneurship: Policies to be aimed at
developing entrepreneurship through micro IT projects.
3. Security of Indian Cyber Space: Policies to
be aimed at protecting Indian Information Assets from Criminals,
Terrorists and predators.
Naavi.com has elaborated these ideas at several points
of time and the key elements of the issues are,
1. Many of the E-Governance projects today consume
high investment for the hardware software and connectivity leaving
little funds for application development, training and education. We
need to conserve cash with the use of appropriate technology and ensure
that whatever facilities are introduced, they are well serviced and
functionally effective.
2.IT sector with the support of Internet provides the
best infrastructure for each individual wherever he is located in India
to network himself to the "Knowledge Society" and pursue some business
propositions. It is therefore an ideal opportunity for "Employment
Creation" with very low personal investment. We therefore need policies
which recognize the value of "Micro Entrepreneurs" who operate with a
single computer from home or the "Self Employed IT entrepreneurs" who
use the "Cyber Cafes" for "Zero Capital Investment" business
development, and projects that make these Netpreneurs realize their
micro dreams. These in aggregation will make India a "Super Power" in It
services.
3.Security initiatives often ignore the possibility
of the Indian Information Assets being at risk from "Predators" of the
likes of the "East India Company" who would like to turn India into
their colony. The security policies should therefore ensure that the
Indian IT structure is not weakened by such "Legal Intrusions". Often
such intrusions come through "International Legal Obligations" that are
taken on by the political leaders without understanding the fine print.
This needs to be addressed on a priority basis before new legislations
and International treaties etc are worked out for the IT industry.
Comments are Welcome.
Naavi
February 3, 2003
