The Hindu Business Line : That's IT for now

THE Budget pushes ahead with the Government's all-inclusive vision of development. The attempt to focus on creating world-class infrastructure that is critical for the sustained growth of knowledge-based industriesis laudable.

Global recognition has come largely from the country's IT prowess and if the industry has to grow at a strong pace, it is imperative that our cities, both Tier I and Tier II, keep pace.

This has been addressed through the creation of SPVs to fund critical urban infrastructure projects. In order to attract top-class global talent to India, we must upgrade urban infrastructure such as airports, roads, schools and power supply. This in conjunction with initiatives like Bharat Nirman, which aim to connect rural India to the wider digital society, will have a great impact if implementedquickly.

Being an alumnus myself, the vision to make IISc a best-of-class university in the world not only acknowledges the potential of homegrown institutions but also brings joy to me. However, other institutes too need to benchmark themselves against global standards.

Another exciting idea is the move to make Mumbai a regional financial hub, as this entails upgrading technology and communication, as also adopting global best business practices and tax policies.

The precise impact of the withdrawal of customs duty on specified goods and the proposed countervailing duty on ITA (Information Technology Agreement) bound items will have to be studied in detail.

However, the Government has missed out on an opportunity to push the agenda for e-governance, which has the potential to not only make the government more efficient but also cut costs.

(The author is CEO & MD, Tata Consultancy Services)

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