Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Mar 16, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Mar 16, 2006 |
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Info-Tech
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Convergence Industry & Economy - Rural Development States - Kerala Billion Indian connections Piyush Goyal
People line up for pre-paid mobile phone connections. Picture by C. Ratheesh Kumar
Telecom has come a long way over the years — from wired heavy telephones to wireless, featherweight mobiles; from telegrams to SMSs; and from postal letters to emails. Communicating was never so simple, so accessible or so very affordable. Telecom services are not just helping people interact with one another but also expanding their reach for knowledge, keeping them well informed and educated. Rigorous and continuous improvement in telecom services is also helping businesses grow like never before. Access to telecommunication is greatly influencing socio-economic development at all levels of society. The role of telecom as an engine of growth and an apt social leveller is recognised everywhere. Governments now accord great importance to providing access to basic telecom services at affordable price; this is expected to bridge the information gap between "the connected" and "the not connected" particularly in a country like India. With a billion people and a fast growing economy, the potential for telecom services in India is immense. Today the software industry in India is worth nearly $28 billion ($18 billion export and $10 billion domestic market), accounting for nearly 24 per cent of the nation's exports. The IT and ITES-BPO sectors account for nearly 3.5 per cent of the global market. The market share of Indian companies in this sector is expected to grow to $200 billion by 2008. There is greater emphasis on creating BPOs, call centres and ITES companies with high bandwidth broadband connectivity. But a vast section of India, that is, the rural sector is still cut off from the benefits of telecom services. The rural population of around 700 million is waiting for its share of economic growth. Take the case of telephony penetration. Initially the big telephone companies focused only on urban centres, which they felt were more profitable. However, this mindset is gradually changing with the realisation that there is equal, if not bigger money in rural areas. It is estimated that a one per cent increase in rural connectivity can generate 0.5 per cent economic growth. Thus a well-planned 10 per cent increase in rural connectivity can propel India into double-digit growth and unprecedented prosperity. Rural India holds enormous potential in terms of economy and human resources. Recent experiments have confirmed that ICT (information and communication technology) helps improve the timeliness and efficiency of rural farm operations and enhance income through producer-oriented markets. India plans to establish 2.5 lakh village knowledge centres. The ICT industry can establish rural call centres modelled on the Kisan Call Centre established by the Ministry of Agriculture to provide domain knowledge in the services, agriculture and manufacturing sectors. This spread will increase the volume of users and automatically bring down bandwidth cost, with a spiralling effect on efficiency and economy. Telecommunication is providing consumers with ever-greater innovative and useful tools. E-learning, that is online classes conducted by educational institutes, and bluetooth technology are some examples. Of late, the concept of phone number portability is gaining attention in India. TRAI has come up with a proposal where a person can "own" a phone number forever by paying a nominal amount irrespective of the service provider used. New gadgets in the markets now boast features and services that extend far beyond basic utility. Another major advancement is `video conferencing', which enables people to interact with one another despite geographical distance. The experience includes a virtual boardroom with appropriate audio and visual support. Besides the convenience, this technology also helps save costs. Advanced telecom services is no longer considered a luxury but a necessity for all. Thus, providing telecom services to every individual in a country like India is a huge challenge, and at the same time holds immense opportunities for those in the telecom industry. Keeping this in mind, the Indian Merchants' Chamber (IMC), one of the oldest in the country, is organising the fourth international conference in the series "Communication Convergence" — with the theme `Connecting India: The Global Challenge' — in Mumbai today. The first conference in the series was organised in December 2002 with the theme `Communications Convergence — The Multi-Billion Indian Opportunity'. The second conference on `Bridging the Digital Divide' was held in January 2004, while the third, held in February 2005 was titled `The Change Agent'.
More Stories on : Convergence | Rural Development | Telecommunications | Kerala
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