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Infrastructure that is of importance in the IT industry includes
telecommunications, electricity, access to computers, number of Internet hosts,
number of ISP's and available bandwidth and broadband access.
Communications
Communications is one of the critical infrastructure requirements of a
country. India, with its one billion people, over 500 districts, around 5,000
villages and large metropolitan cities having population equivalent to that of
many countries needs an extensive infrastructure to serve such a population.
India operates one of the largest telecom networks in Asia with 1,23,000
route km of optic fibre cables network. As of the beginning of 2000, there were
28 million telephone lines in the country -- approximately 50 people to every
landline and 33 people to every cellular telephone line. The density of
available lines is much higher in cities than in the remote villages. At
present, the density in rural areas is equal to 0.5 lines per hundred.
Approximately 60% of Indian villages have village telephone lines.
The Department of Telecommunication (DOT) until 1994 was the only telecom
provider in the country. With the deregulation of this sector, various private
players have come in and improved not only the services but also cut down on
costs.
Telecom bandwidth issues have also been addressed. Many private ISPs have
come in this sector and telecom costs have dropped by 85 percent in 3 years.
Power
Power availability has also improved dramatically and has become more
consistent throughout the country. All 21 Software Technology Parks (STPs)
across the country have installed dedicated substations and genstations for 100
percent backup. Non-STPI locations have readily available generators and UPS.
Most state governments have plans for power reform (e.g. privatised distribution
in Mumbai (BSES)) and are becoming power surplus, e.g., Andhra Pradesh.
Education System
India has emerged as one of the top IT resource providers, mainly due to its
ability to churn out highly skilled workers every year. The Indian school
education system places great emphasis on mathematics and science, resulting in
a large number of sciences and engineering graduates. The English medium of
education also helps in nurturing top class English speaking resource.
Government institutes such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian
Institute of Management (IIM) churn out quality graduates every year. There are
a large number of other government and private institutes, all over the country,
which help augment this process.
Learn more about the advantages of India as an Offshore Destination
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Outsourcing
