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Given that its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi took to technology much earlier in his campaign than his competitors, the BJP does offer glimpses of how it intends connectivity.
First is the deployment of broadband in every village and building of high-speed digital highways across the country. State-run BSNL has generally been the favoured player for all Government-related connectivity projects. But given BSNL’s slowing financial fortunes and the huge scale of operations, private players such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications and the new player Reliance Jio might look to jump into the fray.
E-governance initiativesThe BJP’s manifesto speaks of replicating the ‘E Gram Vishwa Gram’ in Gujarat, which seeks to provide Government-to-citizen services such as payment of utility bills, generation of various certificates and ration cards, among other things. Such citizen service centres are already functional in some states. CMS Computers and Reliance Communications are currently working on this project in Gujarat, and would look to gain more deals as the scheme gets replicated.
Another promise is to improve and enhance various e-governance initiatives. CMC and Wipro Infotech are prominent players in this space and have won multi-year deals from several State agencies and would look to build on it.
Infosys, too, is a significant player in the e-governance space as it now maintains the portal of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs handling electronic company filings, having taken it over from TCS. With the new Companies Law, which calls for greater disclosures, in place, Infosys would look to gain from greater volumes in this space.
Though not stated in the manifesto, BJP leaders have indicated that they may review the Aadhaar scheme. MindTree, one of the companies that has won contracts from the agency, may be affected. A recent report from research firm Gartner indicates that the Central and State Governments together would spend $6.9 billion on IT products and services in 2014.
Who wins: CMC, Wipro Infotech, Infosys, BSNL, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications
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