Hello, ankitk29-ga!
Thank you for your patience while I compiled this answer. I wanted to
be as thorough as possible.
Not long ago, thoughts of India conjured up images of poverty,
overcrowding and economic woes. Today, a new India is emerging. Think
of India and software comes to mind. Want to outsource? India is a
prime option. The growth of the IT sector in India has given the
country the opportunity to be competitive in the global,
knowledge-based, economic arena. Information technology is helping to
spur major advances in India in the realm of biotechnology,
bioinformatics and pharmaceuticals.
But there is a dark side as well. The old images of India are very
real. Poverty, illiteracy and lack of the most basic infrastructure is
still more the norm than the exception. Many within India's own
borders are warning about the rapid but narrow focus on the knowledge
sector and the lack of regard for the rest of India's lagging economy
and impoverished population.
I have attempted to provide a comprehensive picture of India's
emergence as a knowledge-based economy by presenting an introductory
overview followed with constructive criticisms by professionals who
have expressed their own opinions.
****************************************************
OVERVIEW OF THE EMERGING KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY IN INDIA
****************************************************
What is a knowledge-led economy?
================================
"The concept of the "knowledge driven economy" (KDE) or "the new
economy" is used to describe an economy in which the generation and
the exploitation of knowledge has come to play the predominant part in
the creation of wealth. It is about the more effective use of all
types of knowledge and creativity in all manner of economic activity."
"The fact of the matter however is that knowledge is not exclusive to
those countries of the advanced economies. Neither is the concept of a
knowledge driven economy."
From "Developing a Knowledge-Driven Nigerian Economy: An Economic
Framework for the 21st Century," by Debbie Ariyo. Africa Economic
Analysis (1999)
http://www.afbis.com/analysis/knowledge.htm
India and the Knowledge Economy
===============================
India is known for technology, and the IT sector is India's entry
point into the global knowledge-based economy. The following excerpt
provides a good overview of where India stands at the current time.
=
"India is currently enjoying a comparative advantage in knowledge-led
business, due to its very large pool of scientific and engineering
manpower. There has thus ensued an unprecedented demand for IT-related
education. The supply of the required manpower depends upon changes in
the current education system, the rate at which it takes place, and
the time, space and field of operation. Strategies are needed for
turning India into a knowledge-based society through education -
primary as well as higher and wider use of IT, enhanced training
skills development, and strengthening and maintenance of the services
network and development."
"At present, India is standing at an important crossroad. This is a
decisive moment. India has the power to become a world leader in IT
software and services. To achieve the vision of US $87 billion in IT
from the software and services market by 2008, it has to introduce
immediately education reforms to meet the global challenges, along
with second-generation economic reforms."
Read "Globalization and digitalization in India," by Yazali Josephine,
Ph.D., National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration,
New Delhi, India (2003)
http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidbiotech/comments/comments170.htm
An Economic Overview of the "New India"
=======================================
Please refer to the following article which provides an abundance of statistics:
"Promotion of Foreign Investment into India
http://www.embindia.org/Articulos/Promotion%20of%20Foreign%20Investment%20into%20India.htm
"India is in the forefront of knowledge based industries, business and
service such as IT, biotechnology, bioinformatics and pharmaceuticals
and is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities arising
in the New Economy."
Knowledge Economy part of the Bharatiya Janata Party campaign
==============================================================
The "Vision Document 2004" released by the BJP stresses the importance
of the emerging knowledge economy in India.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party has unveiled its vision for making India a
"developed and a great power" by 2020 - a goal it promises to achieve
through aggressive globalisation and modernisation."
"Ridding swadeshi of its anti-globalisation overtone, BJP spin doctors
have defined it as "India First". "A strong, efficient and high-growth
Indian economy, in which Indian products, services and entrepreneurs
dominate the domestic and global markets, is our concept of swadeshi,"
the document says."
"But economic activity in a globalised economy is the BJP roadmap for
future. Mentioning the service sector as a windfall of the process,
the document said that India will be at the centre of a knowledge
economy and emerge as the preferred service provider in a range of
areas including the high-paying professions. The BJP has argued that
globalisation is set to benefit the low-cost economies - with
competitive cost, quality and technology - in the manufacturing and
services sector."
Read "'India first' is BJP's vision." India Monitor
http://indiamonitor.com/news/readCatFullNews.jsp?ni=3031&ct=India
The Indian knowledge economy and relations with the US
========================================================
In a 2003 speech before the Asia Society, Indian Prime Minister Shri
Atal Bihari Vajpayee acknowledged his hopes for a new economic
relationship between India and the United States.
"India and USA are jointly exploring frontier areas of science and
technology, including medicine, environment-friendly energy and
advanced materials. We are working to re-establish ties in civilian
space applications and in civilian nuclear safety. Information
technology and the * new knowledge economy * are increasingly
defining the story of our bilateral relationship. Our growing
partnership in developing technologies of the future should take our
bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level."
"It is not only at government and official levels that our two
countries are deepening and widening linkages. In educational
institutions, scientific laboratories, offices and homes, and even in
cyber space, Indians and Americans are discovering new identities of
interest."
"The Indian American community has played - and will continue to play
- an important role in bringing us together. Through talent, hard work
and enterprise, Indian Americans have risen to become one of the
wealthiest minorities in this country. Their achievements - especially
in IT, financial services, management and medicine - have contributed
to America?s progress. They have also created greater awareness in
this country of the opportunities in the India-US partnership."
From "India-US Relations in the Emerging Global Environment." Speech
at the Asia Society, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of
India. (September 22, 2003)
http://www.asiasociety.org/speeches/vajpayee03.html
Biotechnology and the Knowledge Economy
=========================================
"The knowledge economy of the 21st century has catapulted
biotechnology into prominence. The race is to see which nations will
emerge as global "bio-powers" in the coming decade. India has found
itself a niche in IT. The question being posed is whether it can do
the same in biotechnology.
"If intellectual capital is the prime driver, India has the natural
advantage but there are other drivers that India needs to address in
this pursuit for global excellence in biotechnology."
Why India?
a) "Biotechnology is a knowledge-intensive industry and research is
where huge opportunities lie for India. It has a good pool of
scientific talent available at a very low cost. An English speaking
population is another advantage which India has over other developing
countries."
b) "Biotechnology requires good IT infrastructure and knowledge, which
is available in abundance in India."
c) "Basic research is essential in all aspects of modern biology.
India boasts of a network of research institutes spread around the
country established both by government and private sector.....
Read further....
"Climate Of Biotechnology In India." Rouse & Co International. (2004)
http://www.iprights.com/publications/articles/article108.asp?articleID=181
Designing a Strategy for Success
===================================
In April 2001, India joined Brazil and China in a meeting with the
World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development ()OECD to develop a strategy toward successful integration
into the global knowledge-based economy. It was the third in a
succession of similar meetings which have taken place over the years
involving other countries - first with Poland and the Baltic countries
in 1998, and then with Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea in 1999.
Excerpts from "Brazil, China and India Share Knowledge Strategies" :
"According to Carl Dahlman, manager of the Knowledge for Development
Program at the World Bank Institute: "To benefit from the knowledge
revolution, these three large countries will need to devise concrete
strategies to address the four pillars of the knowledge economy:
economic incentive and institutional regime, education and training,
information infrastructure, and innovation system. To ensure a
coherent strategy across these sectors, government will need to be
more responsive and dynamic in taking account of inter-sectoral
linkages."
"In addition to the four pillars, the participants also addressed
issues of political economy and governance in the knowledge economy.
The forum covered issues related to unequal national development: how
to address poverty in the countries' large rural populations where
access to services and technology is limited."
Read "Brazil, China and India Share Knowledge Strategies":, Wilton
Park (UK), 17 April 2001.
http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,2340,en_2649_34269_2373065_1_1_1_1,00.html
====
From the words of Prime Minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in
an 2003 interview:
Q. How is India considering itself in the world arena? The challenges
and opportunities of the present situation of the world?
"Despite the many and serious challenges that we faced at independence
56 years ago, India has taken large strides on the road to
development. We are today the fourth largest economy in the world on
purchasing power parity. We are at the vanguard of the technologies,
which drive the knowledge economy of today. Our large and expanding
middle class not only provides the skilled manpower for a wide range
of scientific, technological and managerial requirements, but also
constitutes a huge consumer market. This economic resurgence, coupled
with our independent foreign policy, has given India a standing and
recognition, which enable it to play an active and positive role on
the world stage."
"We still face many challenges, including the need to eliminate
poverty and illiteracy, and to create a society in which complete
equality of opportunity can be assured. We have achieved significant
successes in this effort, but the problems are large, and will take
effort and patience to resolve fully."
From "Interview of Prime Minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee,"
by Yeni Safak Discover India. (15 September, 2003)
http://www.meadev.nic.in/govt/pmturky3.htm
The knowledge economy and poverty
==================================
While poverty and illiteracy remain a huge issue, advocates of India's
success in the knowledge economy point to examples of how technology
has actually enriched the lives of India's rural poor.
"Take the example of Jumabhen, an illiterate Kutchi woman in Gujarat,
India living deep in the desert. Believe it or not, she is earning a
living, editing videos. She explained to us how a phone and
video-editing technology has allowed her to make a respectable living
and has made her life easier. She states that her biggest problem is
no longer poverty. Instead her main complaint is that the technology
she is using keeps changing, forcing her to relearn what the different
buttons do on the machine."
"Or take the story of the 35-year old loan officer of SKS Foundation
in Medhak District - a microfinance agency in Andhra Pradesh, India.
She is responsible for disbursements and collection of loans in her
district. Her education is only up to 4th standard, but she has taught
herself to use Microsoft Excel so that she can keep all her records on
a spreadsheet. She now interacts with software developers to help
design better user-interface programs for her organization and for her
record keeping."
Read further for examples of Village Information kiosks...
"Utilizing the Knowledge-Based Economy to Empower the Poor," by Akhtar
Badshah, Executive Director, Digital Partners Institute. (2003)
http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/it4d/thinkpieces/badshah.pdf
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WAIT A MINUTE! WHERE HAVE ALL OUR JOBS GONE? TO INDIA, OF COURSE!!!
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Employees in the US high-tech industry have been hard hit of late.
While they once had the corner on high-paying jobs in the tech
industry, they are facing an increasing competition from India, where
labor is cheap and brains abound.
=
Excerpts follow from "The New Face of the Silicon Age - How India
became the capital of the computing revolution," by Daniel H. Pink.
Wired Magazine. Issue 12.02 - February 2004
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.02/india.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set=
"Meet the pissed-off programmer. If you've picked up a newspaper in
the last six months, watched CNN, or even glanced at Slashdot, you've
already heard his anguished cry. He's the guy - and, yeah, he's
usually a guy - launching Web sites like yourjobisgoingtoindia.com and
nojobsforindia.com. He's the guy telling tales - many of them true, a
few of them urban legends - about American programmers being forced to
train their Indian replacements."
"Now meet the cause of all this fear and loathing: Aparna Jairam of
Mumbai...In 1992, Jairam graduated from India's University of Pune
with a degree in engineering. She has since worked in a variety of
jobs in the software industry and is now a project manager at Hexaware
Technologies in Mumbai, the city formerly known as Bombay. Jairam
specializes in embedded systems software for handheld devices. She
leaves her two children with a babysitter each morning, commutes an
hour to the office, and spends her days attending meetings, perfecting
her team's code, and emailing her main client, a utility company in
the western US. Jairam's annual salary is about $11,000 - more than 22
times the per capita annual income in India."
"Aparna Jairam isn't trying to steal your job. That's what she tells
me, and I believe her. But if Jairam does end up taking it - and,
let's face facts, she could do your $70,000-a-year job for the wages
of a Taco Bell counter jockey - she won't lose any sleep over your
plight. When I ask what her advice is for a beleaguered American
programmer afraid of being pulled under by the global tide that she
represents, Jairam takes the high road, neither dismissing the concern
nor offering soothing happy talk. Instead, she recites a portion of
the 2,000-year-old epic poem and Hindu holy book the Bhagavad Gita:
"Do what you're supposed to do. And don't worry about the fruits.
They'll come on their own."
Indian programmers are admittedly happy and somewhat amused over the
outcry. After all, American companies have always tried to cut costs.
Now, the technology companies have their wish.
"Back in the US, it's all about cheap, cheap, cheap. It's not only
about India being cheap. It's quality services," says Jairam's
colleague Kavita Samudra, who works on applications for the airline
industry. "The fact that they're getting a quality product is why
people are coming to us."
And, says another - "Don't you think we're helping the US economy by
doing the work here?" asks an exasperated Lalit Suryawanshi. It frees
up Americans to do other things so the economy can grow, adds Jairam."
"What begins to seep through their well-tiled arguments about quality,
efficiency, and optimization is a view that Americans, who have long
celebrated the sweetness of dynamic capitalism, must get used to the
concept that it works for non-Americans, too. Programming jobs have
delivered a nice upper-middle-class lifestyle to the people in this
room. They own apartments. They drive new cars. They surf the Internet
and watch American television and sip cappuccinos. Isn't the emergence
of a vibrant middle class in an otherwise poor country a spectacular
achievement, the very confirmation of the wonders of globalization -
not to mention a new market for American goods and services? And if
this transition pinches a little, aren't Americans being a tad
hypocritical by whining about it? After all, where is it written that
IT jobs somehow belong to Americans - and that any non-American who
does such work is stealing the job from its rightful owner?"
While Indian tech firms are growing rapidly, they still have some
growing to do. The 2002 revenues for Patni, India's sixth-largest
software and services exporter, were $188 million compared to $21.5
billion by American firm EDS.
"From an Indian perspective, though, this moment is understandably
invigorating. The country now has the second-fastest-growing economy
in the world. Within four years, IT outsourcing will be a $57 billion
annual industry - responsible for 7 percent of India's GDP and
employing some 4 million people."
"More than half of the Fortune 500 companies are already outsourcing
work to India. One reason: Nearly every educated person here speaks
English. For India - especially in its competition with China, where
few have mastered Western languages - English is the killer app. This
company and this industry will undoubtedly grow bigger, stronger, and
smarter.?
(Read the entire article)
Some statistics
===============
US jobs are fleeing overseas...
United States
--------------
GDP per capita $35,060
Unemployment rate 5.8%
Labor force 141.8 million
Population below the poverty line 13%
Typical salary for a programmer $70,000
... and heading to the subcontinent ...
India
-----
GDP per capita $480
Unemployment rate 8.8%
Labor force 406 million
Population below the poverty line 25%
Typical salary for a programmer $8,000
Top 5 US Employers in India
---------------------------
General Electric 17,800 employees
Hewlett-Packard 11,000 employees
IBM 6,000 employees
American Express 4,000 employees
Dell 3,800 employees
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.02/india.html?pg=7&topic=&topic_set=
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SLOW DOWN....WE'RE MOVING TOO FAST!
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Many believe the Indian government is pushing to develop a knowledge
economy too rapidly, while ignoring essential components of the Indian
economy and society that are integral to success.
=
MIT economist Lester Thurow is an outspoken critic of the dangers that
lie ahead if the Indian government does not consider, most
importantly, the issue of education.
"Lester Thurow has seen India's programming industry and he's not
impressed. Or more to the point, the famed MIT economist is
unconvinced that this activity will provide the world's second most
populous country with a ticket to the new knowledge economy."
"In the knowledge economy, Thurow says, countries that wish to stay
ahead must pay great attention to education. "Ask yourselves this
question - 30 or 50 years from now what job will an illiterate do? By
that time you will have robots to do what an illiterate does now.
Today, I can get a robot that can mow my lawn and does not cost more
than an ordinary lawn mower. Very soon they will be cleaning the house
and doing other household chores."
"Countries that aim to progress in the global economy therefore have
to ensure that everybody becomes literate as fast as possible."
"Striking a cautionary note, Thurow says that India was "quasi-left
out" of the global economy. Even the country's much vaunted success in
the IT industry needs to be put in perspective, he says. India?s
software exports last year totaled around $10 billion while Microsoft
alone was around $50 billion. If India does not carry its masses along
with it, he says, it will not be able to succeed in the knowledge
economy."
Read "Message to India: Globalize Or Be Left Behind," by Venkatesh
Hariharan. MIT Technology Review. (October 29, 2003)
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/wo_hariharan102903.asp
====
The following article addresses some other key points which must be
considered as India takes the leap into a knowledge-based economy.
"India as a knowledge economy: Aspirations versus reality." by Dr.
Prabhudev Konana. Frontline. Volume 19 - Issue 02, Jan. 19 - Feb. 01,
2002
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1902/19020650.htm
I have highlighted the key points due to copyright restrictions:
* India is putting "the cart before the horse" by growing it's IT sector while
ignoring the industrial sectors of the country.
* India should strive for a balance between knowledge industries and
traditional industries. (The difference between industrial and knowledge-
intensive ventures are discussed) Considering that the majority of the
population lives in areas lacking the most basic infrastructure and
illiteracy is rampant, it is important that an "IT policy be designed so
that the nation is benefited in a balanced way."
* The idea of "leapfrogging" which entails skipping the development of
critical infrastructure and leaping directly into a knowledge-based economy
is questionable. "What is appropriate for a developed economy is not
necessarily appropriate for India, where basic elements of infrastructure
including quality education, healthcare, electricity and drinking water
remain in short supply."
* Ideally, knowledge industries like IT should be used to further India's
traditional industries, rather than marginalizing into software exports and
call centers that employ relatively few when considering the country's
population as a whole. The Jute industry is used as an example to highlight
the manner in which information technology could enhance an industry
which "sustains over five million Indian households."
* Is the a knowledge-based economy sustainable if other industries within
India continue to fall behind?
* The development of India's "human potential" will determine whether a
knowledge economy can remain viable.
* The argument that information technology can provide a solution to India's
educational problems is misleading. Far more is needed to fix the
educational situation than the availability of computers and e-learning.
* Taking risks is a necessary part of innovation. Indian culture has not been
supportive of risk-taking. Therefore, the "cultural mindset" must change to
support a knowledge-led economy.
* The government needs develop a policy toward knowledge-based industries for
growth to be practical and effective. While "the growth of the IT sector in
India symbolises the potential of Indian industry to perform at world-class
standards," merely following a herd- mentality to jump into the knowledge-
based race will backfire.
====
The potential for a knowledge-led economy to increase the divide
between the rich and poor has not gone unnoticed by some of India's
government leaders.
During the Sixth Major Cities Summit Beijing - 2000 - Shanti Desai,
mayor of Delhi, India, acknowledged that the "gap between the rich and
poor in cities should paid attention to, especially in developing
countries. As one of the world's leading producers of software, India
has made reducing slums in its country as one of the government's
major tasks. Desai urged rich members of the international community
to help the poor. With adequate outside aid, developing countries will
be able to make greater progress in economic development, he said."
"Gap Between Developing, Developed Countries Should Be Narrowed in
Knowledge Economy Era." People's Daily. (September 29, 2000)
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200009/29/eng20000929_51568.html
====
A January, 2004 presentation before the World Social Forum addresses
similar issues:
"Unpacking the Knowledge Economy - Whither Knowledge Society?" by
Anita Gurumurthy, ITfC. Presentation made at the World Social Forum on
the 18th of January 2004.
http://itforchange.net/resources/Unpacking.pdf
In her speech, Anita Gurumwurthy warned about the undue emphasis being
placed on India's pursuit of developing an IT workforce while ignoring
the country's "abysmal" rate of illiteracy. Among the questions she
raised:
* Whether the government's push to invest in computer access and training is
justified when basic education if faltering?
* Whether India's race to position itself in the knowledge economy is skewed
in light of the fact that so many will remain unemployed?
* Whether India's poor will be left further behind as infrastructure changes
necessary to support the global knowledge economy alter the existing
economic tapestry of entire regions?
* Whether the The global knowledge economy, which is a "win-win for
transnational capital" is actually a win for India as well.
Gurumwurth stressed that the positive aspects of developing a
knowledge-based economy must be balanced against the reality that the
poor and uneducated will be pushed further and further behind, thus
widening an already existing social and economic gap.
Excerpts:
---------
"How do we understand the optimism in the rhetoric that surrounds us
about the knowledge economy, even as more than a third of our
population is illiterate, and the transfer of knowledge is governed by
the hierarchies of class, caste and gender?"
"State apathy to quality of education and to the education of the poor
and marginalized is well documented in India..."
"Excessive emphasis on building an IT-savvy human resource pool, in
this context, could result in the diversion of resources away from the
much more crucial expenditures on literacy and primary education,
which are not just development goals in themselves but a must if the
digital divide is not to widen rapidly."
"A lopsided emphasis on higher education, especially on engineering,
has historically meant large numbers of highly skilled underemployed
and unemployed...Which part of the knowledge economy will accommodate
the rest is of course the moot question."
Change in Community Structure
------------------------------
"The enchantment with IT also coexists comfortably with complete
apathy and inaction vis-à-vis development crises signaled by rural
uemployment, agrarian distress and the collapse of the manufacturing
sector.....
"The demise of the textile industry and impoverishment of thousands of
workers in Gujarat, is now an extensively documented terrain.
Agriculture in AndhraPradesh has had to contend with droughts in
consecutive years and the suicide of farmers. These are the states
that see them selves as poised to harvest from the projected growth in
the knowledge economy. Essentially this means infrastructural
development of urban pockets, better urban teledensity, and private
investment in telecom infrastructure which can least be expected to
serve equity goals. It also means distortions in cities that join the
global information economy - the acceleration of real estate prices,
the undermining of the capacity of traditional industries to survive,
the retreat of these industries into the shadow - the informal
economy, and sharpening income inequities."
* "This duality, between the positive developmental profile and increasing
immiserisation of the urban poor is stark in states like Andhra and Karnataka."
"Even as it exists today, the ratio of gross IT sector output to GDP
is only around 2 to 3 per cent. Also, according to latest figures,
the rate of growth in the sector has also reduced. Even if the
ITES/BPO business grows five- or eight-fold over the coming five
years, as optimistic projections estimate, its contribution to India's
GDP will
remain relatively small."
* "IT remains what is called an island-phenomenon. It cannot drive the
entire country into another epoch or "stage" of development."
Is India a winner in the IT kowledge economy?
----------------------------------------------
"In the context of the omnipotence of transnational capital and the
hypocrisy of the political leadership of the North, the knowledge
worker in the global South stands at the vulnerable intersection of
class and geography. Thus for countries like India, the ITeS industry
and its constituting parts such as call-centres epitomizes a no-win
situation for workers and their rights."
(Read full article: http://itforchange.net/resources/Unpacking.pdf
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY
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Reforms in Education, Economy and Infrastructure are necessary to
support India in the quest to develop a successful, knowledge-based
economy.
=
"The way things are progressing, Indian software exports are going to
hit over $50 billion per annum by 2010. About 203 of the Fortune 1000
companies are among a growing list of clients of Indian IT companies.
In all, India is the second fastest growing economy in the world."
"However, India's progress has been marred to some extent by the lack
of progress in physical, IT and telecom infrastructure."
"Over the last decade of reform process, we could not develop the
countrywide road network to the expected level. India needs heavy
investment on power, energy and infrastructure."
"During the next 10 years, India needs $143 billion worth of
investment in power, $40 billion in developing roads network, $100
billion in oil and gas, $26 billion in coal mining, $116 billion in
transmission and distribution and $10 billion in developing the
ports."
Read "Dubai a role model for India," by Saifur Rahman. Gulf News
Online (Oct. 28, 2002)
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=66904
==
Suggestions from Yazali Josephine, Ph.D., National Institute of
Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi, India:
"If India is to sustain its current competitive advantage, its
education and training system must continue to supply the requisite
quality of human resources to the IT sector and ensure its periodic
upgrading. Moreover, IT initiatives can be harnessed as innovations
for poverty reduction. Thus, a competitive IT sector holds potential
solutions to the fight against poverty in India. Some of India's
research and development (R&D) activities can be made to converge with
those of the developed countries. The Indian government also should
popularize the use of innovations, IT tools and Internet."
"At present, India is standing at an important crossroad. This is a
decisive moment. India has the power to become a world leader in IT
software and services. To achieve the vision of US $87 billion in IT
from the software and services market by 2008, it has to introduce
immediately education reforms to meet the global challenges, along
with second-generation economic reforms."
"In spite of all these developments, there are serious educational
challenges. There is no question that if progress is to be made in the
global knowledge era of today and the future, there will be a
requirement for new ways of learning, new university systems,
infrastructures, research and development, human resource training and
development. These changes in education will not only impart the
technical aspects of education, but will also give people a sense of
being part of the larger human family. Such changes may dictate large
expenditures of resources that are very meager in India. Collaboration
with international agencies for resource mobilization will become a
must. The process of globalization also demands the privatization of
education, a process that is inevitable to confront in fulfilling the
national objective of equity. This aspect requires India's utmost
attention, if the digital divide is to be bridged."
"Despite the problems and challenges, the next ten years could be
years of consolidation, leadership and development - leading to
creation of wealth, jobs, and an acceptable standard of living.
Undoubtedly the road ahead is full of opportunities and challenges.
Such challenges can be met only if we can quickly implement
educational reforms, second round economic reforms and newly emerging
infrastructure to globalize the new e-economy and create awareness
among the people. With such success, India may be transformed back
into a modern-day "Golden Age," when it has 100% literacy, high values
and a world-class economy."
Read "Globalization and digitalization in India," by Yazali Josephine,
Ph.D., National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration,
New Delhi, India (2003)
http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidbiotech/comments/comments170.htm
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
**********************
"Building Innovative Economies," by Alan Larson. Remarks to the
U.S.-India Business Council, Washington, DC. June 20, 2001
http://www.state.gov/e/rls/rm/2001/3696.htm
"Taking the Expansive View: From Access to Outcomes. Utilizing the
Knowledge-Based Economy to Empower the Poor in India," by Akhtar
Badshah, Executive Director Digital Partners Institute, with Satish
Jha, President Digital Partners Institute, India
http://www.comminit.com/st2002/sld-5858.html
"Emerging India as a World Class Leader in the Knowledge Industry," by
Shilpa Ranganathan. (2000)
http://www.zmk.uni-freiburg.de/CulturalGlobalization/Workshop/paper-ranganathan.pdf
"Milestones to becoming knowledge superpower identified." The Hinue
Times. (August 2001)
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2001/08/04/stories/0204000r.htm
BOOK
====
"The Knowledge Economy in India," by Frank-Jürgen Richter, Richter
Frank-Jurgen, Parthasarathi Banerjee. Palgrave Macmillan (January
2003)
http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/product.aspx?isbn=1403901104
====
I hope the information I have provided helps to provide a
comprehensive overview of the emerging knowledge economy in India.
As always, if you need additional clarification, please do not
hesitate to ask. I will certainly help in any way that I can.
Sincerely,
umiat
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