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.

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?

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.

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