‘No power can stop an idea whose time has come’

Time of technology centric world has come.Technology has a deep Impact on eveything.Technology and its impact is the cyclical co-dependence, co-influence, co-production process.It is a synergistic relationship. The use of technology has a great many effects.The most subtle side effects of technology are sociological. These may involve gradually occurring changes in the behavior of individuals, groups, institutions, and even entire societies . It has brought about Efficiency and Social progress . Impact of technolgy in india started with the advent of television, radio and telephone.But now computer and the omnipresent mobile are also in the fray.

Use of computers has come a long way since the first computer was acquired by Indian statistical institute, Calcutta in 1955. A boom took place in microcomputers in India in 1980s and expanded in 1990s.

Computer literacy is the knowledge and ability to use computers and technology efficiently. It’s knowing how computers work and operate. Having basic computer skills is a significant asset. The level of computer literacy needed to have an advantage, depends both on the society one is in and your place in the social hierarchy. Prior to the development of the first computers in the 1950s, the word computer referred to a person who could count, calculate, and compute.

The fear of some educators today is that computer training in schools will serve only to train data-entry clerks of the next generation, low level workers of the so-called knowledge industries. On the other hand, some hope that enhanced computer literacy will enable a new generation of cultural producers to make meanings and circulate those in the public sphere. The wildfire of cultural production associated with sites such as You tube support this notion.

Different countries have different needs for computer literate people due to their society standards and level of technology. The world’s digital divide is now an uneven one with knowledge nodes such as India disrupting old North/South dichotomies of knowledge and power.

Computers came in wide spread use in 1986 when computerized railway passenger reservation system was introduced, followed by computerization of banks in urban areas. But adoption rate of computers by Indian households in the year 2000 was only 1 percent. But this can balanced by providing public access to computers in cyber cafes, telecenters, internet community centers.The new communication media have a higher ratio of information to entertainment.

But are these communication technology widening or narrowing gaps between individuals who are socio-economic elites and there less advantages counter parts. Computers are diffusing in India mainly among information rich. This is making them more advantaged in information sense. The middle class and the elite are adopting computers because these technologies help them to obtain information about news, financial data, travel schedule... etc.

The new communication media is widening the gap between information poor and information rich. But this can be termed more as a passing face because as public access to computer increases the digital divide will be cross.

Computers when applied to labor intensive industries such as manufacturing plants like textiles factories the have the potential to replace them. India has labor in abundance and these labor replacement technologies are bound to be unwelcome. In 1992 when HCL was organizing a press conference about marketing a new product and publicizing role of computer technology a huge demonstration took place outside it organized by political activist and tradesman. They feared that this technology will increase unemployment.

Deskilling is downgrading an occupation to lower socio economic status by replacing human skill with information handling. Just like clerks were replaced by computer technology in US. Many of these clerks become unemployed.

But computers have made certain jobs more enriching, enjoyable and productive. Like work in an assembly line like automobile were work is repetitive and dangerous.

The Indian software industry has zoomed from a mere $ 150 million (U.S) in 1990 to $5 billion in 2000.no other industry has created as many millionaires in India in such a short period of time. Indian computer software industry has created more millionaires in past a time period of 1996-2000 than all the other industries /sectors put together in past 50 years.

‘......the country was emerging as an IT superpower.Today,the country is handling the most sophisticated projects in the world...’

- Bill Gates,
Microsoft

Indian software power houses like Tata Consultancy services (TCS), Infosys, Satyam, Wipro have earned global brand equity for providing efficient software solutions of high quality, at low cost and using state of art technology. They have generated high employment. The Indian software industry employed about 400,000 people in the year 2000.

India rural and urban divide is getting bigger. While urban youth is getting more information savvy. The rural is still in darkness. A new phenomenon has risen in urban areas. The cyber cafes are becoming new hubs of urban youth.

In rural area computer technology has been introduced but with no objective. The government in kerela said that it has introduced computers in school but when these school did had computers but children there dint knew what are they for. Without any objective technology may become a monster.

‘Information technology would make India one of the fastest growing economies of next decade’-

Dawang Mehta,Secretary,NASSCOM

Technology should become a bridge between the rich and the poor and not become a divider. For this technological education should be introduced at primary level in both rural and urban area.

Technology has made information freely available for the mass which has revolutionized India. It has empowered journalist and masses alike. The power to change things.

The power to remove corruption .Technology has given education much needed impetus. Use of advanced computing and telecommunications technology has made learning qualitatively different.

Technology has made relief work more fast during a catastrophie.It is technology which has given voices to the voiceless people. Now journalist armed with camera and laptop can bring the news of ‘farmer’s suicides’ from central India.

Thus technology is transforming India. Technology is a must for everyone in this century but it should be handle carefully and wisely.