Growth ofInformation Technologyin IndiaA Boon or a Curse?

Munindra Khaund

Agenda Introduction Composition Transformations Challenges

India: Composition* Population of over 1.15 billion

Population growth rate - 1.4% Population in urban areas - 29% Life expectancy at birth - 64 years Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) - 52

Slum population 2001 census - 52.4 million 2011 expectations - 93.06 million

* The World Factbook: India. The Central Intelligence Agency. November 2010.** India’s urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth. McKinsey Global

Institute. April 2010.

India: Composition Hindus - 80% Muslims - 14% Christian - 3% Sikh - 2%

Tibet - 77,000 Sri Lanka - 70,000 Afghanistan - 10,000

Buddhist - 1% Bahá’is, Jews, Parsis -

1% Ethnic groups - 2000+

India: Composition 14 official languages

Several dialects

Literacy Rate Male - 74% Female - 48%

India: Composition GDP $4 trillion

Services - 55% [banking, tourism, BPO] Industry - 28% [textiles, chemicals, steel] Agriculture - 17% [rice, wheat, oilseed]

Unemployment rate - 10.7% Inflation rate - 10.7%

Technology Transformation

Mainframe

DesktopWWW

Services

Reforms: 1991 and Beyond State-controlled to free-market

economy Trade liberalization Import controls Currency devaluation Tax rate decreases

Reform - Results* Privatization of public sector industries

Growth of business services - information technology, information technology services, business process outsourcing

Foreign Direct Investment

* Economic Reforms in India since 1991: Has Gradualism Worked? Montek S. Ahluwalia. 2002.* India Trying to Liberalise: Economic Reforms Since 1991. Charan D. Wadhva. 2004.

Favorable for IT English-speaking workforce High-end telecom and infrastructure? 24x7 Policy environment Tax structure

e-Government Computer-aided registration of land deeds and

stamp duties reducing reliance on brokers and possibilities for corruption

Computerization of rural local government offices for delivery of statutory certificates of identity and landholdings

Computerized checkpoints for local entry taxes Consolidated bill payment under 17 different

categories in one place, from electricity to university fees

E-mail requests for repairs to basic rural infrastructure

IT Sectors Software and Services*

Rise in value of exports: 1999-2000: $3.4 billion 2004-2005: $12 billion FY 2011: $56-57 billion

Business Process Outsourcing

* Information Technology Professionals and the New-Rich Middle Class in Chennai. C.J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan. London School of Economics. 2007.

BPO Services Customer service Technical support services Insurance processing Data processing Medical transcription and billing

BPO Revenue Aggregates $73.1 billion in 2009-’10

Growth rate of over 5%

Revenues may reach $225 billion in 2020

* Department of Information Technology, Annual Report 2009-10.

BPO Human Resource Challenges Brand equity, training, benchmark

* BPO Industry in India: A Report. BPO India. 2004.

Why they join Lack of a better job Lack of education Work environment Flexibility of time

Why they leave Growth

opportunities Policies and

procedures Personal life Physical strains

Concerns: International Ex-Gov. Ted Strickland enforcing a ban on

outsourcing of all IT and back-office projects to India by government departments

Petition launched in Britain to stop details of patients in Derbyshire being sent to India for medical transcription

“STOP Outsourcing everything to India & China !! Support AMERICAN jobs !”

Concerns: National Lack of civil engineers* Shortage of teachers Decline of the Humanities and Fine Arts

Deficient in the required technical skills, fluency in English or ability to work in a team, or deliver basic oral presentations

* A High-Tech Titan Plagued by Potholes. Vikas Bajaj. The New York Times. August 25, 2010.

Challenges Population growth Education Human trafficking Environment Technology

Challenges: Population Growth Will add 400 million by 2050*

456 million live below poverty line [$1.25 a day; World Bank poverty line]

Third of the global poor in India

* The last taboo: What unites the Vatican, lefties, conservatives, environmentalists, and scientists in a conspiracy of silence? Julia Whitty. Mother Jones. June 2010.

Challenges: Education Compulsory primary and secondary

education for all?*

Literacy rates Bihar - 60% male & 33% female;

4 children/woman Kerala - 94% male & 88% female;

1.9 children/woman

* India: Labour to unlock. Financial Times. Amy Kazmin. October 4, 2010.

Challenges: Human Trafficking Source, transit, and destination country Men, women, children Forced labor, commercial and sexual

exploitation 11-14 yr old works ~8 hrs/day Street value of $9,000 Middle East

* Smuggling of Migrants from India to Europe and in particular to UK: A Study of Tamil Nadu. K.C. Saha. United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. 2009.

Challenges: Environment* Emissions Land degradation Pollutions of fresh water resources Deforestation + Desertification Urbanization

* Role of multi-tiered governance for enhancing adaptive capacities to climate variability and change

Nair S. The Energy and Resource Institute. 2010.

Challenges: Technology Ultrasound

Sex selection Female infanticide 1000 males to 850 females*

GIS

* Gender Imbalance: The Perils in China and India. Munindra Khaund. 2008.

Potential for Innovation* Competition is vital In-service training Information flow Early-stage funding

* Unleashing India’s Innovation: Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. Mark A. Dutz. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. 2007.

Leitmotif Secular

Sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic

Diverse Customs, traditions, languages, food

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Thank you @mkhaund