IT industry should focus on domestic market: Ramesh

Guwahati, Aug 30 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh today advocated for domestic focus of the IT industry and urged it to shift its attention from the West to South East Asia.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Northeast Information and Communication Technology (NICT) conference here, the minister said, ''India has so far neglected IT development within the country.'' Lamenting the orientation of the Indian IT industry towards the West, particularly the US, Mr Ramesh said three-fourth of the Indian IT industry was export-oriented and this approach had to be changed.

Alluding to China where the IT industry was mostly oriented towards the domestic market, the minister called for a new paradigm shift in the IT industry, focusing more on domestic sectors like education, health, governance and infrastructure.

He said the booming Indian IT industry had neglected South East and East Asia.

''If we realise the importance of the ASEAN countries, the strategic importance of IT would automatically increase. It is essential that the IT industry focuses on South East Asian countries,'' he added.

The two-day NICT conference, reckoned to be the biggest business and IT conclave of the region, was organised by the National Association of Software and Services Companies(NASSCOM) in association with The Telegraph.

Over 500 delegates and 70 speakers besides executives, policy makers, entrepreneurs and decision makers of the corporate world would participate in the brainstorming sessions which would focus on the development of the North East.

''The NE suffers from a communication gap. India has witnessed phenomenal IT revolution whether one measures it in exports, employment or international perception. However, the revolution has bypassed the NE,'' the minister said.

Referring to IT exports statistics during the last fiscal, Mr Ramesh said the three software parks of the North East - Guwahati, Gangtok and Imphal - had contributed only USD 0.5 million as compared to the country's total exports of USD 32 billion.

''The region now needs to replicate the economic boom in the rest of the country, in places like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and other cities. We have to identify the towns here which can act as magnets and then make a determined bid towards IT revolution,'' the minister said.

Informing that BSNL had assured to increase broadband connections in Assam from the current 11,500 to 91,000 in two years' time, Mr Ramesh acknowledged the immense potential which had remained untapped in the region.

''It is indeed remarkable that optical fibre connections are available up to the central exchange level of all major towns of the state,'' he lauded.

Mr Ramesh, however, argued that the IT industry should focus on application rather than development. ''We should avoid imitative competition,'' he added.

UNI