India and the Computer

Since its conception, the Indian computer industry has at different times been held up as a paragon of effective planning, public sector efficiency, and private enterprise. The author argues that it has consistently failed to be any of these things. Rather than being an exemplar of effective planning, the plans themselves have suffered from lagging implementation and frequent changes of policy direction; the public sector has never been attuned to business needs; private enterprise has been more interested in kit assembly than building up an industry. After studying the history of the computer in India, the author examines the dilemma now facing the industry--where economic liberalization has tended to eliminate the skills built up during the period of self-reliance without successfully establishing a new industry in its place.Subramanian, C. R. is the author of 'India and the Computer', published 1992 under ISBN 9780195627350 and ISBN 0195627350.