Power Struggle

Remember the 'India Shining' campaign. The ruling party, BJP,

was so drunk with the slogan that it completely missed the ground realities.

And, hence, was routed out of power. I sense the same fate for all the market

research (MR) companies and other optimist soothsayers thriving in the Indian IT

industry. I feel they are almost completely cut-off from a major problem that

India is plunging into-the growing shortage of power supply, the lifeline of

any IT product or service.

While the MR companies have shown us excellent sales figures in

the JFM quarter for PC sales, what they are not showing us is the poor

performance of dealers and channel partners in states such as Uttar Pradesh,

Bihar, and Rajasthan these days. And it is all because of poor power supply

situation. According to dealers, the sales of PCs are badly affected, and they

are now planning to hit the streets through 'dharnas', 'gheraos', and

representations to local government officials.

Ibrahim Ahmad

Power supply situation in the states such as Uttar Pradesh,

Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttaranchal is going from bad

to worse. In some of the category B and C towns-one gets power for not more

than 8-10 hours in a day. And we all know what is happening in the so-called

metropolis, Delhi, and its surrounding townships such as Gurgaon, Ghaziabad,

Faridabad, and Noida.

I am not too sure if local authorities can solve a problem,

which is of national magnitude and also political in nature. Not only is there a

shortage of power generation in the country, but also power is either stolen or

given away free. It is high time the industry gave some thought in this

direction also. While 'dharnas' in Allahabad, Ranchi, and Gurgaon will help,

the challenge of power shortage for the growth of Indian IT industry will have

to be on the agenda of Nasscom, MAIT, and the IT ministry also.

For the industry, the sad part is that in these places where PC

sales is dipping, sale of two-wheelers, fashion garments, fast food and ice

creams, cosmetics, etc is on the up swing. But going beyond that-if power

shortage comes in the way of IT adoption in the country, it will not just hit

the IT industry, the entire country will be affected. Today, across India,

businesses are depending on IT for competing globally. Similarly, governments,

schools colleges, the police, and many homes are increasing their dependence on

IT for enhancing quality of life. Power shortage hits all, and not just IT.

Concern for enhancing India's power generation capability will

have to happen at the topmost level. It is good to see the President of India,

APJ Abdul Kalam, give his suggestions for India's space program, but it will

be even better if he has some ideas for the immediate problem on hand. I am sure

nobody understands better than him that a country such as India, which is full

of highly talented people, will be powerless if the computers do not run.

The power shortage problem will not be very easy to solve. It will take a few

years. And it will continue to be a big hurdle for growth in many category B and

C cities and towns across India. And the situation may only be worsening. IT

companies are advised to keep this in mind when they do their number planning.

The author is Editor of Dataquest. ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in