Software is the blue chip of our soft power

Soft power is the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments. – Joseph Nye Curse the devil for political stonewalling which saw India bypass the Manufacturing Revolution. But thank God for liberalisation that a young and enterprising India has woken up.

This transition was best illustrated six years ago by US management guru Thomas Peters at a conference in India: “Fifteen years ago, not one in 1,000 Americans could spot Bangalore on the map. Today, six out of seven think Bangalore is the only city in India. They basically believe 1 billion people live in Bangalore.”

Much of the credit for that, as has become legend, was because of a bunch of youngsters who dared to dream. Then, over two and a half decades ago, India was still under the dark shadow of the Permit Raj. Infosys mentor N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and five others had to jump through the hoops. In Murthy’s words, it would then take them one or two years and about 50 trips to Delhi to import a computer worth $1,500.

Infosys was essentially an idea that mutated into a revolution. Even as its founders were charting out plans, the potential of India’s vast physical and human resources to become a world power was being foreseen. Thinkers like Octavio Paz believed the country which gave the world Buddha, Gandhi and the concept of zero in mathematics could find its own way to economic development.

As history bears it, no component of India’s soft power has been as far-reaching, influential and beneficial as IT. In a sense, independent India’s show of soft power began with Nehru’s global peace initiatives in the 1950s. That and the dalliance with non-alignment, didn’t bring much distinction but there were signs of cultural strengths that could appeal. From within the confines of the socialist setting, Raj Kapoor’s aura immortalised by the Chaplinesque Awaara earned him a following from Tehran to Tashkent. Around that time, Mahesh Yogi introduced transcendental meditation to the West and became the Beatles’ spiritual guru.

Yet only after the unclanking of the nuts and bolts of the rusty Licence Raj, was there hope. To spread the message in a flattening world, you didn’t need to scream. Because the world had come into a huddle. This suited India fine because the new methods of the market were more persuasive. For it isn’t in our blood to go about blustering and invading.

Suddenly it seems we held all the aces. Cola ads sprung up on the walls of thatched huts in the boondocks. Our music, literature, dance, art, cuisine and sport appeared on international billboards. Bollywood has been going to London and Rajnikanth has cast a spell on Japanese viewers. Amid all this, the IT juggernaut rolled on.

Clearly, the binary vision of wealth creation and enhancement of new knowledge has earned India a global stature. The staggering impact shows in McKinsey report projections which put IT exports from India by the end of 2008 to $50 billion and employment figures at 2.2 million. Nerds armed with technical degrees and dreamy-eyed entrepreneurs have become the new raiders. For all the scornful remarks about “software coolies”, the revolution is not about coding alone as shown by the enterprise of Sabeer Bhatia or the evangelism of the late Dewang Mehta. That the IT brigade is still the strongest exponent of soft power is because there has been no enigma in its arrival. The software pro doesn’t find himself out of place in the new world. And unlike in the areas of culture, he isn’t speaking an ethnic language. Technology and programming are global expressions. Besides, they are great enablers. The Rajus from the hinterland who are sipping coffee at Starbucks are armed with self-esteem. Technology is about saying, “Yes, we can” even in providing computer graphics imaging for Hollywood. It’s about the empowerment of the supranational Indian who has learnt English at school. Shifts such as the dwindling cost of hardware and the spiralling prices of software have only ensured India remains on the crest of a wave.

So, can the great Indian jumbo fly? Indeed, yes. The future as gurus of the economy put it, lies in solidifying, broadbasing and diversifying this strength. All packaged in top-quality services and active marketing. The tap of talent can’t run dry. Only the nerds have to turn into geeks, the geeks into Gateses. Thank God, too, we have the hunger and are not belching yet.

Interesting FAQ's

What is the Network Relief Kit?
It’s a portable device that provides steady internet access in remote areas. It was used in Banda Aceh, Indonesia when a tsunami destroyed communication infrastructure on the island. NetHope, a collaboration between NGOs and technology companies, created this contraption that is powered by solar energy.

What is a volantor?
A volantor is a prototype of a flying saucer-style hovercraft. It is also known as VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) craft. It was invented by Paul Moller. It’s currently under development. ‘Volantor’ is a term coined by Moller meaning: a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that’s capable of flying in a quick, nimble and agile manner. It has ducted fans powered by Wankel rotary engines. The fans allow for vertical takeoff and landing and, once the vehicle is aloft, it relies on the ground effect to create a cushion of air that the vehicle sits upon while flying. The vehicle has only two controls, one for speed and direction and the other for altitude. The driver does not need to know flying but only needs to know how to control speed, direction and altitude.

What is a Bolero?
It’s a Spanish dance and song in moderate tempo and triple metre that was popular at the end of the 18th and throughout the 19th century. Its rhythms are closely related to the polonaise, a Polish slow dance. The Cuban Bolero, which superseded the Spanish version in Latin America, is in double time. Beethoven wrote the ‘Bolero a solo WoO 158’. Later examples in classical music include those by Berlioz, Chopin and Ravel.

What is vishing?
Vishing, coined from the words voice and phishing, is a criminal practice of using voice over phone to gain access to details about PIN, date of birth and expiry date of credit card holders and using it for fraudulent activities. The criminal configures the system to pretend that the questions asked are for either verification or statistical purposes and records the information so gained for committing financial fraud.

Is it possible for all planets in our solar system to align in a straight line?
Theoretically, no, as the plane of orbit of each planet is tilted slightly in relation to other planets. However, if we ignore the intraorbital plane tilt, then the chance of all planets (eight now excluding Pluto) to be at the right ascension with respect to sun at same time would be once in 180 trillion years. For an exact alignment, when all the planets are inclined with respect to the ecliptic, we must factor the line-of-nodes recession into calculations, that makes the chance once in 86 billion trillion trillion trillion years (86 followed by 45 zeros). The odds strongly favour the fact that an exact planetary alignment will never occur within the lifetime of the solar system that now has only about 12 billion years left.

How do anti-allergen drugs work?
On contact with an allergent, chemical substances are released from mast cells and basophils. The chemical mediators (e.g. histamines) in turn attach themselves on to H-1 receptors to produce allergic effects. Anti-allergen drugs block these chemical mediators. The drugs also produce down regulation of H-1 receptors.

What is RTGS in banking?
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) is an online system for settling transactions of financial institutions, especially banks. RTGS systems are push payment systems with transactions initiated by the paying bank. If Bank A or one of its customers needs to pay $1,000 to Bank B or one of its customers, Bank A initiates the transaction and Bank B is immediately paid $1,000 electronically by Bank A. Examples of RTGS systems include CHAPS in the UK and Fed Wire in the United States. Each country has its own RTGS system. This electronic payment system is normally maintained or controlled by the central bank of a country. The RTGS system is suited for low-volume, high-value transactions. It lowers settlement risk, besides giving an accurate picture of an institution’s account at any point of time.

Why is Wuhan called the ‘thoroughfare of the nine provinces’?
Wuhan is the capital of the Hubei province in the central part of China and is one of the largest and most populous cities of the region. It is also an important centre for trade, finance, industry, and information technology. Wuhan is also the place where the river Hans joins Changjiang, the third largest river of China. Three major railways meet and two major expressways intersect here. That’s why since the 14th century, Wuhan has been known as the ‘thoroughfare of nine provinces’. The term nine provinces stands for multiple directions.

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