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The information technology (IT) sector might have been slightly disappointed by the Union Budget, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than made up for it on Sunday by giving the $150-billion sector a handful of potential business ideas. Modi directed IT companies to move beyond being the world's back office and create its own 'Google'.
Modi was speaking at an event commemorating the 25th anniversary of National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom). The audience listened with rapt attention and heaped generous applause as Modi spelled out his vision for the sector, which ranged from finding solution to the cyber security threat, creating 'virtual museums', hosting 'cloud godowns', to donating libraries to primary schools.
According to Modi, cyber security is giving sleepless nights to the heads of states of nations across the world. "Is it not possible for us to create a foolproof mechanism against cyber threats so that the world can sleep well?" he said. If a solution to this problem is not found, many will stop using technology altogether due to concerns of hacking and surveillance, etc, which could come as a huge shock to the industry.
Among the many "free-of-cost consultancies" that he gave to the sector were cloud or digital godowns to store the huge amounts of electronic data being created in the country as a result of the massive digitisation taking place. Banks, governments and even individuals would store their data online, including the 'sovereign gold bonds' announced in the Budget, and it would be a huge business opportunity in the times to come, he said.
Reiterating his past statement on creating information highways, Modi said the more the connectivity increases, the faster will the country's gross domestic product grow. Modi said technology helps in curbing corruption. To buttress this point, he cited the recent examples of direct benefits transfer in cooking gas, thanks to which the government could reduce leakage by 10 per cent, and the successful e-auction of coal blocks.
Modi invited the sector to participate in creating a blueprint for the mobile application for the Prime Minister's Office and to develop it. The app is being developed in partnership with Google and a contest will be launched on MyGov.in soon.
During the event, Nasscom facilitated several first-generation founders of the IT sector including Azim Premji, N R Narayana Murthy as well new-generation entrepreneurs such as Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal.
Modi also urged each founder or chief executive of 1,800-member companies of Nasscom to go back to their primary schools and create virtual libraries. This could be a corporate social responsibility for them as well as a business opportunity.
During his 40-minute speech in Hindi, which contained a good dose of personal anecdotes and humour, Modi said he was perhaps the only politician to use 'SoundCloud', which helped him connect with many people.
