Email this to a friend. For many reasons, it isin the U.S. government's interest to enter into partnerships with reliableIndian companies. The scale of India's challenges is daunting. Unreliable electrical power,poor roads, harsh climatic conditions that demand rugged equipment and costlyservices from a monopoly services provider are the major obstacles. It is also partnering with Massachusetts Institute of Technology's MediaLab to promote low-cost wireless Internet access.
Human capital is a more complex matter.
The existence of 17 officiallanguages magnifies the challenge of providing basic education in informationand communication technology skills. At the university level, the demandfor skilled ICT engineers and managers is outstripping the capacity of theeducational system. Low labor costs continue to be an Indian advantage, belying thefact that more Indian companies than U.S. companies have earned the toprating from Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute. India's 1 billion people are only beginning to be affected by this change. Progress is slowed by a difficultworking relationship between the public and private sectors.