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Subject: <nettime> Bill Gates on e-India
From: Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl>
Date: 15 Aug 1997 12:19:23 +0200

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Forwarded message:
>
> goa-net-digest Tuesday, 5 August 1997 Volume 01 : Number 663
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> From: Marlon Menezes <marlon@goacom.com>
> Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 13:21:55 -0700
> Subject: Even more of Bill Gates on India's software industry
>
> Date:
> 1 Aug 1997 07:07:42 GMT
> From:
> prasad@nsrc.nus.sg (Srinivas Prasad)
> Organization:
> National University of Singapore
>
> Will India Be a Software Superpower?
>
> By BILL GATES
> Distributed by New York Times Special Features
>
> QUESTION: What do you foresee as the future of the
> software industry in India? (Amit Sharda, India)
>
> ANSWER:
>
> After a recent trip to India, I received a lot of questions similar
> to this one.
> The software industry will create millions of new jobs in the years
> ahead. India more than any other developing nation is seizing this
> opportunity and will become a huge exporter of software expertise.
> In fact, India is likely to be a software superpower.
> The Indian software industry already employs hundreds of thousands
> of people and is growing very rapidly. India's education system turns
> out large numbers of well-qualified software engineers who form the
> backbone of the country's high-technology initiatives.
>
> I came away from my recent visit impressed not just by Indian
> software companies such as Ramco, Wipro, HCL, TCS and Infosys, but also
> by India's university system and the resolve of the nation's business
> and political leaders to reap the benefits of the information
> revolution.
>
> India recently abolished its import duty on software. Several years
> ago the government eliminated an ill-conceived licensing system
> that had throttled the market by restricting which domestic companies
> were permitted to make software.
>
> India is making progress on broader fronts, too. Literacy levels
> are rising and population growth rates are falling. The atmosphere is
> palpably upbeat.
>
> Still, India faces big challenges, such as a poor communications
> infrastructure and the existence of well-meaning laws that hinder
> entrepreneurs. For example there are laws that say people can't be
> laid off and that companies can't go bankrupt. As its
> technological, political and economic systems are modernized, India's
> progress will accelerate.
>
> Corporations in developed nations are beginning to look to India
> for low-cost, high-quality software development. Indian software
> companies are well suited to projects like ``Year 2000,'' the massive
> effort to get corporate mainframe computers to understand that the year
> following ``99'' is ``2000'' rather than ``1900.'' (This is no small
> matter. An incorrect date could affect calculations on such things as
> pensions.)
>
> Although some Indian companies such as Ramco produce packaged
> software, I expect most of India's programming talents to be used
> to create customized software for corporate use. This isn't a surprise,
> considering that even in the United States 90 percent of the software
> professionals develop vertical applications such as accounting and
> financial packages for corporations rather than work on packaged
> software products such as databases and spreadsheets.
>
> The growing technical prowess of nations such as India unnerves
> some people in developed countries who fear a loss of jobs and
> opportunities. I think these fears are misplaced. Economics is not a
> zero-sum game.
>
> The United States has the preeminent position in software and will
> continue to lead. But as opportunities are gradually more evenly
> shared around the world, the net effect won't be a loss of jobs in
> the U.S. or other developed nations. The economy will be stimulated. The
> demand for customized corporate software will remain greater than the
> supply for a long time.
>
> I'm often asked whether my company intends to develop software
> products in India. We outsource some work there now, but we don't
> do major development outside the United States yet. Someday we'll pick a
> second location somewhere in the world, and India is one of the places
> we'll consider.
> ------------------------------

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