The second most populated country on earth is India. More than one billion people live in this country between Burma and Pakistan. With an illiteracy rate of over 40 percent, it is not surprising that most people have no access to technology at all. On the other hand India is well known for its state-of-the-art software programming companies and its incredible growth as a telecommunications market.
The mobile phone market in India is growing at the incredible rate of 100 percent each year. Already 70 million people use cellular phones in comparison to the 50 million fixed-line users. That is partly because the distances are simply too long to provide lines even rural areas of the country. Another major reason is the fact that poverty is prevalent outside major cities. In other words: only one out of a hundred people have access to fixed or mobile phones in rural regions. Over 1.7 million people are enrolled on a national waiting list for communication services.
With these numbers in mind, it is apparent that there is a drastic discrepancy between the technological high-tech centers and the underprivileged countryside in India. While people in Delhi or Calcutta can visit internet cafes with high-speed web-access, others are totally left out – yet. Software programming companies are spreading over India like wildfires. One of the most important export commodities of this emerging country is electronics. At this year’s CeBIT tradeshow in Germany (the most important electronics fair in the world), a total of 52 Indian companies was present. That is more than from Japan or Singapore.
More and more western corporations discover the Hindu nation as a promising region to move part of their business to. Thanks to its cheap labor costs and liberal regulations, India is an interesting investment prospect. Many multinational companies are moving call centers and service departments to the country by the Ganges River. And these indicators can only mean one thing: the vast expansion of technology in India will bring high-tech to the people there as well. Soon such western standards as broadband internet access or IP-based telephony will become available to evermore citizens.
Sources:
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html
http://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/abt/intwep/zingel/dga2001.htm
http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/languages/German/Telecommunication.pdf#search=%22indien%20telekommunikation%22
http://files.messe.de/cmsdb/007/2810.pdf
