When you think of it all that comes to mind are the positivism that it has to offer, but nothing in this world is pure white. The IT revolution has been far from white anyways. It's only a capitalist movement which is governed on the sole principle of profitism and all the good things branching from it are but only the by-products.
The revolution didn't start out for the social good or for the general benefit of the masses, it was solely the attempt of a few individuals to start up an entrepreneurial venture in order to make some handsome bucks, riding on the wave rising from the developed west.
They enjoy government perks and huge concessions in taxes for providing employment to thousands of young Indians. So our benefit is essentially being "sponsored" by the governments who don't quite have the framework in place to accommodate the thousands passing each year. What the IT industry has done best is at creating an infrastructure of cheap labour for the west to employ.
The Government has a scheme in place specially for the IT industry and export of its products. It provides physical infrastructure, including dedicated high speed connectivity to technology parks, freedom for 100% foreign equity investment and tax incentives. It is called the Software Technology Park of India(STPI). The exports have risen from 4 in 1980 to 17,500 in 2005. The huge jump in number creating new billionaires in a country where 40% are below the International Poverty Line.
Things obviously aren't all black either. IT industry is the flagship of India outside our country. It is how people relate to India. It is what helps us break away from the snake charmers image. Most importantly it is providing the youth with something to do. It keeps them employed and occupied. It has satisfied the aspirations of lakhs of common Indians.
It has helped revolutionise the way we used to work. IT has brought in professionalism into the system which was for long identified with procrastination and labeled as downright inefficient. More than anything it has brought a change in perception and has given something in which we can truly compete with the global bests. IT today enjoys that special place in India because, no other industry stepped in to take a step forward and left the space open for it. Its something we should be proud of and try to emulate elsewhere as well.
The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential. ~ Steve Ballmer
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