National

IT sector has changed worlds perception of India: Kalam

LONDON: The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has praised Indian scientists and the IT sector for driving technological change in a way that is helping the common man and said that its impact will soon be felt globally.

Speaking at the British Institute of Technology and e-commerce here, Dr Kalam highlighted how millions of ordinary Indians were benefiting from a combination of technological innovations and uniquely innovative business models.

In India, it has become common for villagers speaking on cell phones has become common. India has the cheapest telephone [call] rates in the world, for both landlines as well as cell phones. India also has the fastest growing telecom market in the world, adding roughly eight million cell phones every month. This amazing growth has been made possible because the Indian cell phone service providers had a number of innovative business models such as free incoming calls, prepaid calling cards, etc. We should remember that innovation in business models is also innovation, he said. Dr. Kalam explained how scientists in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used innovative techniques to design a lighter, cheaper and more durable version of the Jaipur foot.

Similarly, the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad developed a very low-cost stent that brought down its price by more than 90 per cent. Dr. Kalam said the booming IT sector, which employed more than two million people and contributed roughly 25 per cent to Indias exports, had dramatically changed the worlds perception of India.

When you consider that the IT sector employs just 0.2 per cent of the population, you can see that the IT sector is contributing many times its share to the Indian economy. Indeed, it is not wrong to say that the IT sector, perhaps single-handedly, changed the worlds perception of India, he said.

Dr. Kalam said a unique blend of ingredients was driving technological change in India. We have a shortage of capital, so we have to be very innovative to stretch our limited capital. By and large, government agencies are not able to deliver citizen services fully effectively at any level, be it national, state, or regional. But fortunately, we have democracy, so that individual citizens have been free to evolve local solutions for local problems. Until now, our local innovations have not been able to spread outside India. But as the Indian economy becomes more globalised, our impact will be felt worldwide.

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