Sunday, January 16, 2005
Maran: Man on a mission
I considered Murasoli Maran as one of the better ministers India had. His handling of the WTO negotiations was commended by one and all. He was the glue holding the DMK with the NDA. His early demise was a huge blow to the country, not just because it lost a dynamic person, but also because it meant DMK severing ties with the NDA, that was one of the main reasons for NDA's loss in last year's elections.
After his death, his son Dayanidhi Maran seems to have taken over from his father. Basking under the high-visibility post of the Union IT and Telecom minister, he seems like a young man in a hurry! After the launching of broadband connection with 256kbps speed at Rs.500 per month, he has now promised low cost computers. While all this sounds great, I'm not very sure if this makes perfect sense in the long term. Considering that BSNL, in true babu style, is selling the 256 kbps connection for domestic connections at Rs.500 and for commercial connections at Rs.1200, one wonders if itz the classic case of cross-subsidising. If that is true, then I would doubt if this will sustain the long run. It may just make the private players non-competitive, and govt players enjoying a monopoly. And we all know from our past experience what a govt monopoly means!
What the country needs is not govt subsidising IT, but coming out with policies that will enable private players to provide latest technology at affordable costs. Instead of subsidising, the govt should rather look at giving tax rebates, remove license fees (one of the most silliest tax on companies who you want to provide affordable technology to common man!), etc. It will be interesting how Mr. Maran will go ahead in his mission, and where Indian IT sector will be 4 yrs down the line.
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
- Douglas Adams
I considered Murasoli Maran as one of the better ministers India had. His handling of the WTO negotiations was commended by one and all. He was the glue holding the DMK with the NDA. His early demise was a huge blow to the country, not just because it lost a dynamic person, but also because it meant DMK severing ties with the NDA, that was one of the main reasons for NDA's loss in last year's elections.
After his death, his son Dayanidhi Maran seems to have taken over from his father. Basking under the high-visibility post of the Union IT and Telecom minister, he seems like a young man in a hurry! After the launching of broadband connection with 256kbps speed at Rs.500 per month, he has now promised low cost computers. While all this sounds great, I'm not very sure if this makes perfect sense in the long term. Considering that BSNL, in true babu style, is selling the 256 kbps connection for domestic connections at Rs.500 and for commercial connections at Rs.1200, one wonders if itz the classic case of cross-subsidising. If that is true, then I would doubt if this will sustain the long run. It may just make the private players non-competitive, and govt players enjoying a monopoly. And we all know from our past experience what a govt monopoly means!
What the country needs is not govt subsidising IT, but coming out with policies that will enable private players to provide latest technology at affordable costs. Instead of subsidising, the govt should rather look at giving tax rebates, remove license fees (one of the most silliest tax on companies who you want to provide affordable technology to common man!), etc. It will be interesting how Mr. Maran will go ahead in his mission, and where Indian IT sector will be 4 yrs down the line.
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
- Douglas Adams
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