IT is both a boon and a Bane in India. I am an IT Professional residing outside India at the moment. I see things from a distance and not up close and personal as some of our members who have seen the wrath and sun-light of IT boom.
Its a boon, because there are a lot of jobs floating around for people who did no do their Computer Engg or could not afford Engg collages. Here I am refering to call centers. These high paying jobs floats more money into circulation, people spend more and businesses get more money. Of course if all businesses and persons paid their taxes correctly and did not circuvent the system, this would mean more money to the government, which would in turn give us better infrastructure and facilities.
But the fact of the matter is that this is not happening. People have a lot of money, they are still not paying the entire tax amount due, taking advantage of legal loop holes, and govenment is still very corrupt to do something useful to the nation.
Well, I know Govt has improved a bit in the last couple of years, but it is still not at a point where it can handle the rate of growth of economy and India's popularity in the world.
Another reason that it is a bane is that the salaries of IT professionals have sky rocketed in the last couple of years and soon, India will lose its edge over other countries like China and Indonesia. And when IT moves over to those countries, inflation will grow and stocks will fall and people who have invested heavily into IT firms will lose a lot of money ( most of their money saved will be in black) and it will be chaos all over.
Thinking of the average Raju next door, who works at a factory or plant, he will be effected the most. Because of inflation, cost of medical care will be so high that he will not be able to afford the knee surgery for his father. Resorting to govenment hospitals, which we all know what state it is in.
In my recent visit to India, I shared a sad exp of a couple who were farmers, their only child admited in a hospital in Coimbatore for over 2 months. Not being native to Coimbatore, they had to stay at the hospital's public room, which is long hall and can accomadate 30 people comfortably, but had 80 people sleeping in there. After 2 months and getting false hopes from the damn doctor (GOD complex), they were almost penny less. They had to sell their farm, their house and their machinary and the only good thing that came out of all this is that their son would be able to talk. Moving his hands and legs were a distant future.
What is the point of this sad story? Well, I was at that hospital for a month, visiting my relative and I/our family was able to afford the 2 month stay at the hospital (8 lakhs) in medical expenses, since I was in IT. But thinking of the farmer, even today I can recall the sadness in his eyes and his wife's.
So, there is no real side one can take with IT's impact on India, its economy or its effect on people's life.
-GGR