Nasscom assures Indian Railways all possible support

New Delhi, June 25 (UNI) Nasscom, country's premier software and services body, today reciprocated the Railway Ministry's call for maximum utilisation of IT in the department and assured it for all possible support.

Earlier, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad called for IT's maximum utilisation not only in the ministry but also to connect the common man with the mainstream.

''Lalu might not have sufficient IT knowledge as it should be, but he has some natural intuitive qualities to grasp the basic problems,'' Nasscom President Kiran Karnik told reporters here.

''To face the cut-throat competition raised by globalilsation, all IT companies needs to find ways to remain competitive in the present scenario,'' the Railway Minister said while distributing Nasscom IT User Awards in a function here.

There is a huge space in the Railway Ministry for the IT companies, he said and invited them to participate and contribute to make the Indian Railways world's number one.

Mr Prasad, otherwise, sang an elaborate paean to the IT companies for ushering in tremendous changes in the lives of common people.

He also exhorted them to forge a constructive bonding with the Railways, which offered enormous opportunities for IT applications.

The Railways had earned a surplus of Rs 20,000 crore in the fiscal 2006-07, Mr Prasad said.

UNI