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If our leadership becomes IT-aware
IT-oriented and IT-friendly, the chances
are that the IT revolution in the country
will achieve the success it deserves.
investments to their particular geographies. A laptop instead of a
langar
(
free
kitchen), and Microsoft PowerPoint instead of a microphone, should be the new
tools for today’s politicians. Let the computer “mouse” be the new era Ganesha’s
charioteer to attract foreign investment and usher in prosperity within the states.
IT awareness is also leading to a better informed political community that wants
to know how this new tool can be used as an instrument for constituency
development. A number of MPs are currently speaking to
industry about using regional languages for reaching their local
backers. Issues such as bandwidth, which is an important
prerequisite for widening the IT net and enhancing technology
penetration, are being tackled on a war footing. NASSCOM, for
instance, is working in tandem with the political parties to draw attention
to “must haves” like Internet telephony. An IT Dandi march to the
DoT is on the cards to pressurize the powers-that-be to take necessary action to redress
the telecom infrastructure situation.
A number of other initiatives are also being planned to drive home the point that IT
is here to stay and needs attention. From October 2, Nasscom is organizing
workshops for MPs, in groups, to acquaint them about IT: It’ll be a three-day
capsule with Day 1 focused on a basic IT orientation program. Day 2 will cover the
use of IT in constituency building, and on the final day, MPs will be sensitized to
the national and global issues related to the infotech sector.
As part of its awareness generation calendar, Nasscom is also planning IT
melas.
Lok Sabha constituencies like Gurdaspur (represented by Bollywood star Vinod
Khanna) in Punjab, Chhindwara (Kamal Nath) in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhinagar
(
L.K. Advani) in Gujarat, Amethi (Sonia Gandhi) in Uttar Pradesh
will be some of the prominent venues for these
melas
.
The IT road shows
are also expected to go to cities such as Indore, Shillong, Coimbatore,
Lakshwadeep, among others in the near future. Many MPs and MLAs
have also contacted the IT industry to organize taluka-level conventions
to let local politicians get a hands-on look at the benefits IT offers.
Nasscom will be organizing many such seminars over the months ahead.
It’s quite clear now that if government officials are expected to become
IT-aware by 2005, so should our politicians. In fact, the link between our political
leadership and IT will drive the country forward in the highly competitive global
environment. The new slogan would undoubtedly become “Roti, kapada, makan,
bandwidth aur bijli.”
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