Computerisation of Labour in India

The below mentioned article provides an overview on the Computerisation of Labour in India. After reading this article you will learn about: 1. Meaning of Computerisation of Labour 2. Report of the Task Force on HRD in IT 3. Hardware’s and Software Development and Exports Computerisation of Activities.

Meaning of Computerisation of Labour:

By the term computerisation of labour, we mean imparting computer training to workers of different categories as per requirement so as to increase their productivity. With the passage of time, as new technologies of production are entering into the country and machineries are gradually computerised, under the present context computerisation of labour is gradually become inherent in a developing country like India.

At present computerisation of labour is becoming very much important for industrial sector, banking and insurance sector, transport and communication and other infrastructural sector, services sector etc. After the adoption of globalisation and more particularly after the establishment of World Trade Organisation (WTO), computerisation of labour has become inherent for standing in the global competition and also to maintain necessary pace in modernising the economy.

Moreover, the trade in services clause of WTO has also created favourable prospect for exporting the services of computer personnel in a labour surplus country like India. Therefore, in order to realise this favourable area arising out of globalisation, computerisation of labour is gradually becoming very much important in the specified areas.

In the mean time, India has attained considerable progress in training up a good number of computer personnel throughout the country. For this purpose, a good number of computer training institutes have been developed and they have been undertaking various short-term and long-term courses regularly.

Moreover a good number of Indian universities has also introduced computer education and computer engineering programmes under the direct patronage of University Grants Commission (UGC).

Report of the Task Force on Human Resource Development in Information Technology (IT):

The Task Force on Human Resource Development (HRD) in Information Technology has recommended setting up of exclusive Institutes of Information Technology in collaboration with the industry and funding from the Central and State Governments. The institutes shall function as resource centres and provide training in cutting edge technologies.

The report, which has made as many as 47 recommendations, relates to monitoring of the capacities of institutions periodically, with 1999-2000 as base year. The objective is to double the intake in IT and IT related programmes 2001-2002 and treble it by 2003-2004 for the system as a whole.

The Task Force has recommended launching of an IT faculty development initiative with a multi- pronged approach to address critical shortages of IT faculty, retaining quality faculty and their periodic up-skilling and creating a faculty development fund for the purpose.

Hardware’s and Software Development and Exports:

In order to adopt computerisation of labour in a most successful way, the production of computer hardware’s and software’s at cheaper cost has become very much important. In this line, India has already attained considerable progress. A number of Indian Companies have already established their worth and have been producing computer hardware’s and software’s in collaboration with multi-national companies.

These companies have been able to diversify the market of their products both internally and externally. Moreover, this has resulted in a considerable reduction in the market prices of both computer hardware and software’s.

As a result, the receipts under miscellaneous category in the invisible account of Balance of Payments, which include software exports, rose from US $ 1.4 billion in 1992-93 to $ 4.0 billion in 1997-98.’ Software exports continue to show exceptional growth rates and increased by nearly 60 per cent in 1997-98.

Software and technology related exports continued their strong performance and reached to an estimated U.S. $ 1.7 billion in 1997-98.

Thus it is found that the software industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in the Electronics Sector, in terms of both exports and domestic use. During the Eighth Plan period, software exports have registered an impressive annual growth of about 43 per cent from US $ 174 million in 1991-92 to US $ 1042 million in 1996-97. In the same period, software domestic use has grown at an annual rate of about 52 per cent from Rs 320 crore in 1991-92 to Rs 2,600 crore in 1996-97.

Computerisation of Activities:

In the mean time, India has attained considerable progress in respect of computerisation of its official activities in the already specified desirable areas. A considerable progress has already been attained in respect of computerisation of activities in banking and insurance sector, post offices, railway reservation, signaling and other offices, telecom departments in the central sector.

Moreover, various departmental offices under State Governments have also introduced computer literacy programme for its employees and also initiated computerisation of activities at the marginal level. Besides, computerisation of activities of the workers engaged in the private sector industries and institution has also been progressing at a considerable pace.

This is no doubt one welcome trend. In order to face global competition and also to stand in the competition, computerisation of labour and its activities in the specified areas on a large scale has become very much important for a developing country like India.