IT boom has not had desired effect on India’s growth — Pitroda

MANIPAL, MARCH 22: The chairman of World Tel, United Kingdom, Sam Pitroda has cautioned that the advancement made by India in information ...

MANIPAL, MARCH 22: The chairman of World Tel, United Kingdom, Sam Pitroda has cautioned that the advancement made by India in information technology (IT) would not be the answer to the grave problems faced by it.

Speaking as chief guest at the 14th annual convocation of T A Pai Management Institute (Tapmi) here yesterday, he said though the IT advancement made by India could be of help in boosting the image at the international level, it had failed to solve its internal problems like illiteracy, growing population, health care system, food production and nutrition.

"If our country had to leap forward and become economically a strong country at the international scene, we should have a clear vision and values based on simplicity, sacrifice, truthfulness, dedication and hard work. We have totally forgotten our great leader Mahatma Gandhi and his values of life which are still relevant for the country," he said.

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He said democracy would have its real meaning only when people came forward to question the authority when it went wrong or created undue hardship. Bureaucrat is like `Dracula’ in our country which still inherited the qualities of British raj. Administrative powers of bureaucracy was coming in the way of everything, he added.

Pitroda, who headed the C-DOT and late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s technology mission, sharing his life experiences said the youth of the country should be given proper opportunities in building a modern and strong India. The young managers should have the qualities of courage, confidence, competitiveness, concern and ability to question to become successful in their career and in nation building work, he added.

Earlier, in his welcome speech, K K Pai, chairman of the governing council of Tapmi said the institute, which had earned a name by acquiring a national character, had plans to set up exclusive centres of study in banking and financial services and non-governmental organisation management. A centre for small business management and entrepreneurship had already taken shape. The institute would also start a two-year programme in management for family business by July 2000, he said.

He said the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) had offered partial financial support to short-term programmes for owners-managers and entrepreneurs. The institute which had signed an agreement of cooperation with Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, USA was now being sounded by other universities in the US for possible tie up and collaboration, he said, adding that over the last few years, the placement record of the institute had also shown remarkable growth.

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Pai said the institute had also recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Essae Chandran institute, a reputed management development institute for conducting a weekend executive MBA programme for working executives.

Efforts were on to avail the government land for developing a decent residential campus in Manipal and implement some of its important plans for growth.

Prof D Nagabrahmam, the director of Tapmi who spoke, said the teaching of business ethics as a compulsory course in the Tapmi was the first of its kind in the country. The institute had plans to tie up with Aptech for offering a net-based MBA programme soon. It had also finalised plans to start a two year full-time MBA course in family business from this academic year. The institute had also evolved a "Vision 2005: A Strategic Plan" for the next five years to develop the institute into a centre of excellence, intellectually exciting, financially and academically autonomous and having a sustainable competitive advantage in all its activities in the next five years.