Next step for the infotech boom

The IT services industry must innovate more and integrate better into the needs of the national economy

The information technology service industry is facing headwinds because of the economic slowdown in the West and, perhaps, new developments in technology that are altering the balance between humans and machines.  The answer to this slowdown requires us to understand the dynamics of the spectacular growth of the infotech industry and its exports over the past three to four decades, and how these dynamics need to be altered in the years ahead.

The history of the infotech industry in India is a story that reflects the successes and setbacks caused by public policy from the early years of independence. Its