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Beyond Optimism

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PCQ Bureau
New Update





Krishana Kumar

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I am just back after a month long road trip. Roughly once every year, I travel into different parts of the country to get a first hand feel of what is happening in the (real) world out there. In the past, I have done similar trips to the sub-Himalayan north and the west. This year my chosen area was the south. 

Somewhere during my trip, both Reliance and Airtel crossed ten million subscribers, Microsoft launched the beta of their anti-spy ware tool, and the Mac mini came out! Or in other words, life went on as usual!

Over the last four or so years, when I have been doing these extended trips, I have been noticing a slow but sure change in the Indian landscape as well as mindscape.

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For starters, the cellphone is now ubiquitous, and the PC has stopped being a niche product meant only for the urban elite. Today, all B, C and D towns have shops selling them and all language dailies carry PC ads. Internet access is also available in all but the remote villages.Digital cameras outnumber the older film ones wherever you go, and video cams are appearing in increasing numbers and cable TV is every where.

In short, technology is slowly but surely reaching the entire Indian landscape. But what impressed me a lot more is the change in attitude of the average Indian.



The always-complaining Indian has been replaced by a newly self confident, can-do, will-do Indian. You can see him everywhere, right from the architectural glass encased software houses and BPO centers, all the way to the agricultural lands in the villages. Gone are the days when everything used to be blamed on the inefficiencies of the government. The government machinery is very much affected by the can-do, will-do spirit.

The last two decades have seen a continuity of positive policies even as governments changed, and new and better infrastructure is being built allover the country. 



Information technology has played a significant role in making all this happen. It has helped create jobs, and has made information available, a lot quicker, to
farmers, to retailers, to bureaucrats, to the common man.

In the past, in this column, I have expressed cautious optimism on the direction in which we are going. Today, I am sure that we are well and truly on our way to becoming a great nation.

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