Is the other Biryani getting cold?

It might sound abit sarcastic to link Biryani and IT, but a closer view of
the erstwhile stronghold of N Chandrababu Naidu forces one to draw this analogy.
While industry watchers and economists chew the post-Naidu political regime, the
opinion is divided-both for and against sentiments echo in the corridors of
Cybertowers, home of the leading IT companies in Hyderabad. Ever since YS
Rajasekhar Reddy accepted the mantle of Andhra Pradesh, there has been growing
concern among the IT community here, with the new government's pro-farmer
approach. As a supporter of Reddy says, "Our rural people are in a bad
shape-growing debt, drought, escalating farming costs and host of other issues
have pushed many to suicides. They do not need laptops or Internet. I firmly
believe this government will do justice to the farmers."

The man we spoke to is Narasiah, 35, a class 10 dropout from Nandyal, who had
come all the way to Hyderabad to give a petition to the CM for getting a bank
loan approved to revive his failing crops. Across AP, there are millions of
Narasiahs who had voted in favour of Reddy. In a recent interview to Dataquest,
Naidu remarked, "When you are tech savvy, you are branded an
anti-farmer." That was Naidu, frustrated by the electorate turning tables
against him in the 2004 assembly elections. The verdict against Naidu is the
outcome of his larger than life image as a politician and technocrat. Even now,
Naidu is credited with engineering the knowledge economy in the state.

Reddy Effect

That Reddy is not IT savvy might be just a perception, also. Speaking
recently at the Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA) annual awards
function, Reddy did hit the nail on the head: "Sure I am pro-farmer,
pro-agriculture, but that does not mean I am against technology."

Meanwhile, some of the IT companies had requested the government to allocate
land for expansion, but the government is yet to do so, says an IT company head,
under conditions of anonymity. "We keep hearing great news opening of a
world class fab unit or a 20,000 acre knowledge corridor, but I am not sure how
much will be translated into reality." Political observers aver that Reddy
has no other option but to go slow on IT-he will not repeat the mistakes of
his predecessor; he will make sure that the rural communities are happy.
Meanwhile, the law and order situation in some of the areas in Andhra Pradesh,
including Hyderabad, is very bad. Moreover, in the last few months, Chandrababu
Naidu has upped his campaign against the Reddy government and even called for
its dismissal.

Infrastructure Woes

One of the biggest pain areas Hyderabad faces today is the growing urban
density. The IT boom had multiplied the population, but, civic infrastructure
has hardly been scaled up.

For the IT companies already operating here, it is business as usual. But
when it comes to expansion the question that is asked is: Will they expand to
tier two cities like Vizag or move out to other places like Chennai? To tap the
expansion potential of existing companies and to lure new investments, the
current government has to improve on its image and prove to potential investors
that IT still works here.

Shrikanth G in
Hyderabad