Use this version. For many reasons, it is in the U.S. government s interest to enter into partnerships with reliable Indian companies. The scale of India s challenges is daunting. Unreliable electrical power, poor roads, harsh climatic conditions that demand rugged equipment and costly services from a monopoly services provider are the major obstacles. It is also partnering with Massachusetts Institute of Technology s Media Lab to promote low-cost wireless Internet access.
Human capital is a more complex matter.
The existence of 17 official languages magnifies the challenge of providing basic education in information and communication technology skills. At the university level, the demand for skilled ICT engineers and managers is outstripping the capacity of the educational system. On the other hand, retention of skilled young people is improving more than half of the graduates of the best computer institutes now stay in India. Low labor costs continue to be an Indian advantage, belying the fact that more Indian companies than U.S. companies have earned the top rating from Carnegie Mellon University s Software Engineering Institute. India s 1 billion people are only beginning to be affected by this change.