The inspiration for this writing is the recent public applauding of the computerisation efforts of Information Kerala Mission by a person heading a political estabilshment in Kerala. The audience is reported to be a trade-union organisation formed by the employees of IKM.
There's hardly any doubt about the ingenuity of the plan that IKM unfolded in Kerala through its operations meant for networking the 1200+ local self-government institutions to the State Planning Board. Microsoft services were designed and developed, for its usage here. IKM being a technical body created entirely for this purpose, thus became a monopoly consultant for the government on most of its matters pertaining to applications in Information Technology. The State now, needn't require any external flow of queries for the purpose of initial consultations. Everything to the minutest detail would be provided by IKM. Once IKM decided on the solutions, wherever public participation is needed, quotations would be solicited. Owing to the secrecy of its operations and the extreme delicate nature of its implications, the biggest need for the successful design of a proprietary solution was thus identified not as the developers, but the consultant itself.
This genuine and highly imaginative move was to be later replicated by Microsoft Inc at a number of other establishments in India, many of them in other State Governments, Public Sector Establishments like Banks etc and the Central Government. Microsoft's novel entry into National Informatics Center which controlled most of the technological activities of the Central government helped it in identifying the IKM-like establishment for the Central Government - in this case it were identified as NIC. The NIC's clout and its huge presence in almost all departments made it the biggest catch of Microsoft. NIC were to act like the monopoly consultant to Central government, much like the role IKM played for Government of Kerala.
In the Ministry of Rural Development, NIC's consultation services are at its imaginative best. For the network of over 3,00,000 gram panchayats and block panchayats of our nation, NIC consultants have offered Microsoft-based services, which would require among other things, Microsoft tools and accessories. A single software application what would have been worth a few lakh of rupees at the most, now runs into at least Rs 20 billion when the project gets matured. Unsatisfied at this, the NREGS monitoring system now tries to rope in as many proprietary technologies as possible to make it appear complex - the latest experiment is also participated by some of the tribal panchayats in Wayanad - to make the whole ICT venture give a "pro-poor people" appeal and a sanction of the left-supported Government (so that it can be replicated in West Bengal and Tripura and at all other states where there is a Left political presence!). The people there are planned to be supplied with Smart Cards to record their attendance at NREGS ! Similar applications would also be run as pilot projects of NREGA monitoring system in villages of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar.
The ingenuity of the formula that IKM proved for Microsoft doesn't end with governments. In scientific and research establishments like ISRO, an application which mimics googleearth - the Bhuvan experiment - now requires citizens of this country to have Microsoft Operating Systems on their boxes ! What IKM couldn't do Kerala, a single Madhavan Nair could do for the whole country !! Imagine the extent of Microsoft's imagination !! Imagination is indeed more important than Knowledge - how right was Einstein !!
In the banking sector, where citizens have to necessarily trust all their personal financial transactions and savings, Infosys-applications act like IKM - insisting that the core-banking applications should be run only on "Internet Explorer based Windows", for many critical online applications like railway ticketing etc. A "regret" is the most what one can expect from the banks !! If one tried to appeal to the Banking Ombudsman, the shock continues as most of the applications there are also Microsoft-ised.
NIC's foray into all the parliament activities, all individual departments or ministries, even the President of India's web-services made this Microsoft-isation complete.While the entire world struggled for decades to make Bill Gates the richest person on this planet for his stupid software, the Governments and Public Institutions in India have achieved in a few months !! That's the power of the genuinity of the consultative-trick - one that IKM experiment helped in opening up of the third-eye of Microsoft !! This killer formula is continuing with its trickery and will continue to do so in the near future. The Corporates know that Indians are there for their buying - what they didn't know is how cheaply they can get through !! With a "Government for the Corporates, Police for the people" democracy, sky is the limit.
CK Raju, IIT Kharagpur