India could have become the regional Internet powerhouse. India could have attained information supremacy via this medium. Information and prompt delivery of the same, could have made us, Informative superpowers. We could have used the net a lot earlier to bridge the technology gap as well as boost trade. We speak English better than others, have tremendous creative and software development skills and are tremendously IT literate. No other ASEAN country can bast of these resources amongst it's people.   

As the netizens move from content to community to commerce, we in India are left wondering as to what the net can do for us. What then does the digital future hold in store for India? What went wrong? Why?  

The Problems  

Too much hype and an high entry cost. Faulty and few phone lines. Irritable Help desk at VSNL (India's only ISP). Very little net based corporate competition. And most importantly, very little awareness in the society. Today at Rs.15, 500 for 500 hours of access the net, with the same types of phone lines, makes surfing in India more to the liking of a roller-coaster ride. Combined with the limited availability of phone lines, it made the Net seen even more elitist. And with a single ISP for whom the Net generates as little as little 0.3 percent of revenues (Rs. 16 crore in VSNL' s turnover of Rs. 5,000 crore for 1996-97), we had a situation where one of the world's best opportunities was allowed to pass India by. Once again.  

Further problems include relate to high tariffs for lease lines, expensive computers and Infrastructure, as well as the fact that the government does not allow transfer of coded data over the Net. Interestingly, some of the impediments are due to the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. You cannot expect progress if you live in an anachronistic era.  

Need for Indo-netizens  

We definitely need to play the catch-up game once again. We need more companies for whom the Net, is core business, a matter of life and death. That is what a Silicon Valley is all about, that is where a thousand flowers bloom. A revolution is what India really needs to get noticed in the networked world. Web based technologies (Intranets and extranets) proffered one such chance for India to take up a leadership position. And we blew it. We have a lot to learn from all these mistakes.  

The foremost requirement for successful surfing experience is Infrastructure. VSNL has put in place an Internet infrastructure which is among the best in Asia, except for the local lines, which it can do precious little about. But to succeed big time, we need to connect from a Pune to a Cochin, from a Nagpur to a Tirupur. Digitally, seamlessly, and quickly.   

Cyber Homes 

The Internet is the world best direct marketing medium. Offering netizens a way to reach out and communicate unlike anything before. For it to efficiently succeed, it needs numbers. The Net's value grows exponentially with each new addition. More Indiansed web content will definitely drive up the net use and trade as well.  

No one has thought of the Net that way in India; nether the government, nor the trade organizations, nor the companies.   

Reliance Industries has an announcement on its Home page since the last two years with a very short message - "Under Construction." We have spent a lot of time debating on cellular and basic services, on television and direct broadcasting. Internet use and it's reach will never be as widespread as TV, it cannot be. For successful exploitation of the net it needs investment, large scale advertising, as well as more and more Indiansed web content.   

The Indian Cyber Hut  

Indian Corporates need to pay as much attention to setting up a Web site as they would to opening a new office or business. Companies thought of the Net as a magic wand: put up a page, and you can start getting business from the next day. Doesn't work. Location, promotion, updates, service, prompt customer feedback continue to be as important on the Net as they are in the real world. The Indian success stories on the Internet are the ones which have taken a long-term view, and emphasized post-E-mail-reply service as much as the act of putting up a Web page.  

Once the companies realize that the Net is a business medium, the growth will be rapid. Some sites that have been very active and made a mark on the medium are ICICI in banking, Kotak Securities in finance, G magazine in entertainment, Indian Express in publishing, Hindustan Lever Ltd., in recruitment, the Reserve Bank of India in information dissemination and Skypak Couriers in brand extension.  

Within Businesses 

A Web presence is just a starting point. The technologies that the Internet embraces can be used as productively and effectively within and between organizations. Dell sells a million dollars worth of IT products through the Net. This stream of business did not even exist a few months ago. GE and Japan Airlines invites bidders to place their bids through the Net. It is not that Indian examples don't exist. NFDC offers advertising agencies a system to book ads on Doordarshan [Indian TV Channel] via the Net. Spear Art Gallery sells paintings within India via the Net.   

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce recently held a special management event, 'Your Business on The Web', to help disseminate information about the Internet, its advantages and problems. Such seminars are gaining prominence in India. There is a tremendous need for dissemination of Information and development of the net culture. Indians are slowly realizing that by using net based services like chat stations, net conference and net2phone, they can substantially reduce their communication costs. Finally a reduction in their phone billings is a point which the small to medium size companies get all excited about.  

There is an urgent need for us to focus on business-to-business. The Net is not just about business-to-consumer, rather than the norm or consumer-to-consumer. Its biggest impact is the change it is going to bring about in business-to-business communications and transactions. The ability to tie in the best suppliers from anywhere in the world, combined with the ability to reach out to prospective buyers in any part of the world is what will bring about the biggest impact to the companies. For Indian exports to triple in the next five years, Indian companies need to create a stronger presence; not just in ones or twos, but in hundreds. India also needs to put in place an electronic commerce infrastructure, something that Singapore is currently doing.  

For electronic commerce to succeed, it is important for money transactions to be allowed on the Net. Experts say that with full convertibility of the rupee expected in the next 12-18 months, this problem will be taken care of. Also, with private participation, Internet users in India will grow to one million by 2000 and 10 million by 2005. This means that companies that are hooked on to the Net will find their business opportunities grow by leaps and bounds.   

The Internet is a technology to adopt, considering our geographical spread. Experts claim that irrespective of the kind of business you have - banking, finance, recruiting - it is important to be on the Internet if you don't want your business opportunities to dry up. With more companies creating a site, it does make a lot of business sense to be slotted on the Net.  

The Market at Home 

India products must never forget to build on the domestic audience. In the software business, we tried to build our exports without having a strong local market. As a result, we, ended up doing more offshore work and lost out on the more-lucrative products market at home. We allowed major International players to overrule. While the western companies made a lot of money, and fame, Indian programmers were left doing the hardcore stuff without trace of recognition. We missed out in developing a world class software product then, but, I hope we have at least learned a lesson for the future.  

We need to have a vibrant and fast-growing domestic user-base on the Net: from therein will come the ideas, innovation and products to build up the Indian Internet Industry.   

Most Web sites tend to have a 90 percent non-Indian audience (predominantly NRIS). We need to change that, by making Internet access more affordable, and more ubiquitous. A thriving domestic industry is critical for international success. And critical for this is a high-speed digital network within India.  

The Net is more important for our future than we realise. We must move fast with innovative use of technologies. We live in a world where computer chips double in their speed every 18 months, and communication capacity triple every 12 months. It is a world where geographical borders mean little. It is a world wherein competition is global. In this unfettered environment, we need to build our future on. A future with the Net as a fulcrum. A future where the computer, modem and phone lines are the very basic need for all Indians.