You will be glad to know VARIndia Star Nite Awards ā 2008 went off very well. The biggest achievement of the evening was that the entire Indian IT industry got together under one roof and instilled faith in each other.
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Even though the country is seeing the reflection of global slowdown, it is no more than a mere shadow after all. Rightly, Dr. Subas Pani, Secretary, Planning Commission, Government of India, pointed out that we should not press the panic button so soon, as the fundamentals of the Indian economy are quite strong. It is, of course, true. The Indian IT industry is yet to exploit its entire potential. If one looks at the full potential of the country having a population of over one billion, hardly 10ā15 per cent use IT directly. In order
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to make IT applications available to the entire Indian population, the IT industry need to make affordable and user-friendly products and solutions. Therefore, probably, the statement of Dr. S.N. Dash, Secretary, Heavy Industries, making IT available in the local languages is just apt and timely. Think a little bit of tweaking in the software and it can make the products locally usable.
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It is true that the BFSI sector is the worst hit, but has there been any difference to the Indian BFSI industry? Probably not! Then, why there is a scream of slowdown. Yes! There is a defence mechanism working underneath that if at all it affects us then what will happen. The other day, the Indian Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, urged India Inc. to reduce prices and lure the consumers to boost production. It is true that there was an exorbitant rise in the prices of every commodity and there should be a price reduction for sustaining the future growth.
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The statement āIt is a time for survivalā is misleading ā at least in the context of India inc. Very recently, there has been a hike in the pay structure of the government employees. And, now the employees of CPSUs are going to get a hefty increase in their emoluments with arrears. Do you think they are going to hoard the money? Surely, they will go on a shopping spree. Remember, their number is quite large. So, India Inc. has not reached that juncture of time when we need to go delirious.
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I fail to understand why people are watching every movement in the U.S. Now, we should be bold enough to accept the fact that the Asian countries are the catalyst of future economic growth. And, the value from India is going to be quite big in that equation. It is just a matter of creating confidence in each and every individual of India.
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Sanjay Mahapatra
Editor
