Advertisment

'IT is communications'

author-image
VoicenData Bureau
New Update

Pramod

Mahajan, Minister for Information Technology, GoI.

India's future lies in IT. And if anyone has doubts, Pramod

Mahajan, India's Minister for IT should put that to rest. No doubt

that Mahajan is a hardcore career politician with an unmatched

ability for realpolitiking. But unlike most of his brethren–both

past and present–who even after taking charge of ministries are

engrossed in their first love realpolitik–he is passionate about

IT. Here, he talks of IT, convergence, India's

communication infrastructure, and much more.

Is India an IT

superpower?



India surely

has the potential. Delegations from Ireland, Singapore and US are

visiting India. That itself is a sign of the strength that we have.

But we are not there yet. There are many a slip between the cup and

the lip. There is a vsat gap. That is also true with IT. But our

effort is to remove that gap. But we should be cautious about

it.



We must also realize that China,

our main competitor, is moving fast. The only advantage we have is

that English is almost our second national language. Though today

English is the IT language, this advantage may not last long. Then

there are smaller states like Ireland and Israel.



We have made an entry into the

competitive world of IT. But to stay there and win is not an easy

job. I want to maintain the present confidence level. But at the

same time I want to take precautions. India needs to be promoted as

an IT investment destination. We should not think that India is

already established as an IT superpower.



How do you plan to go

about with your plans?



We have to

sell India as a destination. But we must keep in mind a proper

regional balance. I don't want to limit IT to a few cities like

Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune. Actually the entire country

is the destination. So our job is to promote brand equity of India.

Our problem is that our priority seems to be only the software

exports instead of also looking at the domestic front.



You have also been

talking of the "Digital Divide"…



I have

maintained that IT is like a double-edged sword. If not used

properly, it can create a Digital Divide. But if used properly for

the good of the underprivileged, it can create a Digital Unite–not

only economically but also at the social, linguistic, regional, and

geographic levels. IT can be a great leveler.



So what are you doing to use IT as a leveler?

So what are you doing to

use IT as a leveler?



My job

as government personnel is to promote IT. The Government need not

get involved in everything. So as one of the steps, I have decided

to set up STPIs in all the 25 states. I am trying to promote IT

among the different segments of the economy like the hotel industry

and the healthcare industry. We may request the NGOs to get involved

in organizing IT yatras, IT festivals called

e-yatras or e-festivals. Or we can create parks where anybody

can come and see computers and get to familiarize themselves. My job

is essentially to champion the cause and make people aware of

IT.



Don''''''''''''''''t you think that you

could start off with some of your ministerial

colleagues?



One of my

initiatives has been to call all the chief ministers on a common

platform to chalk out IT plans to formulate a common National IT

Plan in the process. I have also requested the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court to set up technology courts though technically, as the

IT Minister, it is not my sphere of influence. But I have to spread

the light of IT. What Chandrababu Naidu has done in Andhra Pradesh

is nothing but throwing ideas. As the minister for IT, I don''''''''''''''''t have

piles of files to clear, but the job certainly involves spreading

ideas about IT and its usage.



OK. Let us presume you

will build the momentum. But with such poor communication

infrastructure, will we have a sustained IT growth?



True.

Telecommunications and power are two essential components of IT.

Unless we make ourselves self-sufficient, modern and of

international standards on both the fronts we shall not be able to

sustain.Human resource in the form of English-speaking skilled

manpower is our strength. But that''''''''''''''''s not enough.



In the power sector, our total

requirement as of today is 1,50,000 MW. There have been several

initiatives and we have almost a success story in power sector. At

the policy level there is nothing new to be done there. We are on

the right track. Speed may be a problem but that is always a

variable one can argue about.



Since NTP ''''''''''''''''94, miracles have

happened in telecommunications. We have so many new services,

including Internet services. We have split DoT into policy making

and service providing bodies. Then we had the NTP ''''''''''''''''99. The migration

package is already complete. It is not that we have not done

anything.



It is very difficult for a basic infrastructure to catch up with speed of IT

It is very

difficult for a basic infrastructure to catch up with speed of IT.

Let me draw a parallel. No matter how fast an aircraft you make, it

cannot fly at the speed of thought. IT is like the mind. IT is about

ideas. In IT there are only two aspects: ideas and infrastructure.

Ideas move at the speed of per second. But to build a physical

infrastructure you need a longer time. Even within IT, a Software

Technology Park of India (STPI) will need three months to be

built.



We can certainly compare

with the development of this infrastructure in other countries. You

talked of China. They are so fast.



The ground

realities as you know are different. India is a democratic country.

Things tend to take a little more time. But a democratic country has

its own advantages also. And you are aware of them.



You have been talking a

lot about convergence. How do you see convergence? Do you think that

market and technology convergence should lead to convergence in

policy making and regulation?



I think now

convergence is very simple. IT is now communications. We have

technology that enables extremely fast communication. That''''''''''''''''s why I

call IT as the fourth generation of communication. First we had

gestures. Then came spoken words followed by written language. And

now we have the digital language.



So the entire boom about IT, to

put in layman''''''''''''''''s words, is a new form of human communication. So when

I change the very mode of communication between humans, the rules of

the whole game change. What I communicate between you and me is

voice. If we want to see each other we communicate video. And when

you want some information I communicate it through data. So voice,

video, and data are the three things that can be communicated. We

have reached a stage where one wire, or may be wireless, can carry

all the three things. That is convergence and that will happen in

about three to five years. And when it comes, the rules of the game

will change again.



I recently stated in a lecture in

a hotel that the TV screen would be the centre of all activity:

voice, data, and video. I suggested them to install TVs in bathrooms

also where a lot of interaction would take place and a lot of

important decisions would be taken.



Some countries like

Canada and UK have made policy statements on convergence. In fact

Canada has a separate ministry handling convergence. And two years

back, even you had spoken of a single ministry.



My ministry

is concerned with decisions regarding IT only. Decisions regarding

voice and data transmission lie with the ministry of

telecommunications. And broadcasting ministry takes care of video

transmission. An ideal IT ministry in the convergence era has to be

electronics, communications, and broadcasting. But there are obvious

reasons why it is not so. Besides political compulsions, one

ministry cannot handle all these portfolios. So what we have done is

that the Prime Minister has provided for a Cabinet Committee on IT.

It is a tool we plan to use and the ministry is in the process of

putting things in place. First we tried to sort out

inter-ministerial issues at the individual level, group level, and

secretarial level. But the results were slow. Let us now formulate

the agenda, discuss it with the people involved, and things may move

fast. That''''''''''''''''s at the policy level. What about the regulatory aspect?

That''''''''''''''''s at the policy

level. What about the regulatory aspect?



Let me first

clear what IT is all about. I have read the statement of Arun

(Jaitely) about the need to have a Convergence Bill. Considering the

pace of law making in the country, I do not want to stop the present

IT Bill for the sake of the future Convergence Bill. I want to clear

the IT Bill first since technology is moving fast and everybody will

have to move along with it. All these regulations might have to be

changed because technology would have moved so much ahead. Sometimes

I feel that this IT revolution will be complete in five to seven

years and it will stay for 50 years till you find some other new

revolution.



So the laws will have to follow

technology since technology is dynamic and till IT stabilizes we

will have to change legislation. In fact, the Singapore Prime

Minister commented that I was holding two mutually non-compatible

portfolios. IT that moves so fast and parliamentary affairs that

moves so slowly.



Something personal. Your

skills as a key BJP negotiator is well known and ministry for

parliament affairs is somewhat compatible with those skills. But how

come you got the IT portfolio?



Distribution

of portfolio is the Prime Minister''''''''''''''''s prerogative. Sometimes it is a

political decision sometimes it is accidental. I do not know what it

was in this case.



You are too important a

politician to be accidentally given any job.



Well, with

all modesty, I can tell you that during my short tenure in the

ministry of information & broadcasting, I was instrumental in

starting the sports and the news channels. I proposed privatization

of the FM channels and not only took a policy decision but also made

the bandwidth available by "negotiating" with all concerned. And for

the first time, the ministry made Rs 550 crore out of just selling

thin air. And there was no scandal. It was completely

transparent.



Balaka

Baruah Agarwal Cyber

News Service

Advertisment