 "Govt should not run data centres because things are on cloud : Mohandas Pai")
"Give the chance to startups to do it, open APIs that will result in connecting citizens to the government," Pai, who also funds startups as an investor said at the the second edition of CeBIT India in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Pointing that the Digital India campaign run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about empowering every citizen using digital tools, Pai said: "There needs to be a paradigm shift. I would like the private sector to do it because the government doesn't have the capability or the capacity. Government should not run data centres because things are in the cloud."
Echoing similar views as Pai, Ajay Kumar, additional secretary at Department of Electronics & Information Technology, said: "We need to go a long way at innovation as a country. Private sector will drive innovation in digital transformation. Government is about process and standardization but not innovation. It is limited in scale and size. Traditionally, government does not allow flexibility and the disruptive way of thinking that innovation requires. The duty of government is to create ecosystem than focusing on innovation."
The duo also noted that language has been a huge barrier in connecting India. "Inclusivity won't happen with English. Government too has to take note of this and work towards it," said Pai. Kumar added language solutions in India have a long way to go to compete with those that are global.
The first day of CeBIT India saw moderate crowd as opposed to 2014 though the authorities said the first day first half footfall at the event on Thursday has been more than that of last year's. According to Hannover Milano Fairs India Managing Director Mehul Lanvers-Shah, the participation has remained static and is expecting to see a small uptick in transactions this year.
While the event saw state governments including Kerala, Telangana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh coming in as partners, it was surprising to see zero representation from the Karnataka government on the first day. Last year, Cebit was organised in association with the Karnataka government's annual technology event, ITE.biz. However, the two entities decided to part ways this year due to conflict of interests. "A technology event that drives investment into the state is what the government wants to do. However, Cebit has a marketplace model where we showcase new innovative solutions and businesses." However, he did not rule out a plausible partnership again with the state government the next year.
This year, Cebit generated participation from 21 states in India, including Jammu and Kashmir and Mizoram.