IT domain evolving; a broader view needed; Amartya Sen

Mumbai, Feb 7 (UNI) Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen today said the domain of Information Technology (IT) is still evolving and stressed the need for taking a broader view than has already got established in this regard.

Delivering a keynote address on the inaugural day of the three-day NASSCOM India Leadership Forum summit here, Prof sen made a strong case for the Indian IT industry which is to bring its influences somewhat beyond what can be seen as its traditional domain with a view to play an important role in ensuring the inclusive growth of the country.

Rather than urging the industry to do something for the country, he asked it to do ''even more, indeed in some ways, much more''. This is partly because the reach of information is so wide and all-inclusive, and also because the prosperity and commanding stature of the IT leaders and activists give them voice, power and ability to help the direction of Indian economic and social development, he said Attibuting the success story the Indian IT industry has witnessed so far, to the country's policymakers that accorded priority to the development of technical skill and the state-of-art education in technology despite India's grinding poverty, he said,''The IT sector has benefited a lot, since the entire industry is so dependent on the availability, quality and reach of technical education''.

IT is a hugely interactive operation and in many ways, Indian IT has depended on what we can call TI, that is, ''Talkative Indians'', he said. ''It is not hard to see how a tradition of being thrilled by intellectual altercations tend to do a lot to prepare someone to the challenges of IT interactions,'' he added.

Pointing out the local domestic market the IT sector was faced with, Prof Sen said,''One of the huge obstacles to the domestic development of the IT sector is the size of the local market, which is still quite small, despite all the recent expansions''. Still, he appreciated Indian IT for its excellent use of the global market.

UNI