Are we really the IT super powers?

Just a few days back many of my friends got recruited into some of the prestigious Information Technology companies like TCS, WIPRO, INFOSYS, HCL, etc. They were all happy to get selected into those companies, even without getting their Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degrees. Their initial salaries are above 20k per month, quite a handsome package. And yes, even I felt happy then to see my friends getting such jobs in the most happening companies in the most happening field today, in India . And some of them even threw a party. We all enjoyed it.

But later, one question really troubled me and is still troubling me. And that question is are we really the IT super powers which, we think we are? First, I thought the answer is YES. IT, today, contributes a substantial part to our economy, it gave India a new identity in the global arena, it gave jobs to lakhs of Indians, and what's more, its all set to grow even larger. So I thought the answer is YES.

Now looking at the other side of the coin, yes we do export a lot in the BPO sector. But of late, a substantial part of these exports are coming from call centre end of the BPOs. Also our forte is services sector. We are yet to bring out a great IT product. Yes, we gave a few really nice products to the world, especially in the financial sector. But all those came from the subsidiaries to foreign companies. True, its hard to bring out a product solely from India, especially in this age when the operations of the companies are spread all over the world. But what is worrying is that in most cases, I think, we are putting the enormous capabilities of our work force to abeyance.

Even more than any of the above mentioned things, one thing that really puzzles me is, why have we, despite being a lot advanced in this field, failed to harness the power of IT for the good of common man. For example, we still pay our current bill at one place, our phone bill at another place, and various other bills at many other places. Can't we, with the help of IT, create a system to make easy all these payments. And take the case of education field, to begin with, our state (Andhra Pradesh) technical education board doesn't have a solid, fool proof centralized counseling system to allot seats in various colleges. We do have a centralized system, but it doesn't allow the prospective students to choose the colleges and courses they want at leisure. They are expected to make decisions on the spot. And this, in many cases, results in the students regretting their decisions at a later stage. And our university still prefers the age old approach of sending the results to our colleges via fax or phone, instead of posting them on the university website. Or take the case of our police force. It still doesn't have a national wide database of the records of, leave alone the normal criminals, even terrorists. If we have one, it can help our forces a lot in fighting the terrorism. Even better, if can maintain one with records of most wanted criminals. One need of paramount importance to any democratic country is the voter list. But we, boasting to be biggest democracy in this world, still grapple with the discrepancies in the voter lists and photo id cards. True, the sheer no. of voters makes it difficult to bring out a perfect system, but having the IT prowess we have , with the right will, I think, we can accomplish the task of bringing out a good, if not the best, system.

Now, after thinking over all these arguments, I find it hard to answer the question, I raised first, YES. Nor is my answer a NO. May be we the IT Super Powers in deep slumber. What do you think? Post your comments.

Why this hypocrisy?

Yesterday I saw a running announcement scrolling down at the bottom of the screen on MTV.
It said that MTV was warned by the I&B ministry for broadcasting a Hindi song certified 'A' by the CBFC.
What does this mean? In whose interest did the ministry issue this warning?
Does this mean that actually, all the songs that were broadcast by MTV, all these years, for e.g., songs from AKSAR (just to name one) can be seen by anyone, including children?
After reading the announcement I was really appalled to know that all these songs were, indeed not certified 'A'. If these songs aren't certified 'A' , why certify others 'A'?
What else do the CBFC want in a song or in the movie to be certified 'A'?
Does it actually want a topless shot or a nude shot?

I'm not saying MTV shouldn't broadcast these songs. If people (this includes even me) want to see those songs, let them see and let MTV broad cast those.
But why mask the content as not 'A' certified.
I really don't understand why CBFC is following these double standards.
I request the I&B ministry to change the regulations on certifying these songs and movies. And then enforce the law correctly.

While we cant accept porn movies being released, even as 'A' rated, the discrepancies in various censor boards rules should be removed and a uniform code should be followed all over the country.
Also the age limit to view see an 'A' certified movie may be reduced to around 15 years. Because, if they aren't allowed to see them, they can still lay their hands on obscene movie via Internet or at their neighborhood CD shop or an extremely violent video game (in most cases parents dont object to their children playing these gory games) . But then the restrictions should be seriously implemented.

Also all ISPs all over India should try their best to block pornographic sites.
If China can, very successfully, screen all search results and websites, sometimes including BBC , just for the mention of words like Democracy, Human Rights, I think India can do better to stop the pornographic websites .

Whither Israel & US?

What is Israel's intention in bombing Lebanon & killing scores of innocent people?
As reports show, the actual no. of casualties on both warring sides i.e., Israel and Hizbollah is far less than the no. of Lebanese casualties.
What does Israel intend to achieve ?
Whats more?, the Hizbollah hasn't shown any signs of retreat.
So now, how long does Israel intends to continue the strikes.

What does Ms Condoleezza Rice wants us to believe in, that she is really concerned about the situatuation in Lebanon, all the while supplying bunker buster bombs to Israel?
Looks like America hasn't learned the lesson from Iraq that killing the general public doesn't deter any extremist outfit to which the public are not related.
If it has, why has it remained silent while it can stop the Israeli raids through diplomatic pressure?

What do Israel and US want to achieve by inflicting wounds on Lebanese people?
Do they think its going to deter Hizbollah?
If yes, at what cost?

What has happened to us , the largest democracy in the world?
Why have our voices gone mute?
Our politicians & foriegn policy seems to have capitulated to the pressures of the imperealistic govt of USA (i don't have any ill-will towards America, but i do hate this Bush administration).

Friends , lets all protest the ongoing butchery of the Lebanese people.
Lets raise our voice against this brutal oppression.

'By the way.......

this is a journal, of thoughts, ideas, feelings and musings on life and everything else, of a little known, maverick Indian i.e., myself. All that I write here is what I feel is right. While I'm not writing for anyone in particular (that's because I doubt if anyone cares to read my blog), I would appreciate and love your sharing your ideas. So feel free to comment on any of the entries.'

The journey begins.......

Hi!
Ok guys (this thing, that someone out there is reading my own blog, I call it HOPE), this is my 1st posting. So don't expect much.I didn't even think of what to write .

I'm a normal guy from a little known town in India. I'm a true maverick because I don't do things people say me to do or expect me to do, but only those I want to do. Ofcourse I once faced a set back because of this attitude. But it's hasn't let me down ever since.

And I always wanted to speak out on a lot of things around me like politics, movies, social customs and ofcourse, my own personal experiences.

I'll try to post as often as possible.
Thank u for patiently reading this long.

My care of address is my college, "Sri Sagi Rama Krishnam Raju Engineering College", Bhimavaram. I hang out there most of the times.By the way, I'm an ELITE (in our college, we guys from Electrical & Electronics Engineering branch, call ourselves the ELITES).

bye
bye...............