The Public Sector Jumble

"We had to deliver mobile phones for a certain government project. But the tender process took 9 12 months. When we placed the order, a newer version of the model was available and we bought it. My money is now held up because the government says I gave a different product."

"We had to train government employees to use the solution deployed in their department. But they were not available. Sometimes they were on leave or in some meetings. Consequently, milestones couldn't be met and payments were stuck."

Over the years, opportunities in the public sector have been a mixed blessing for the Indian IT industry. Its reflected in the examples above of IT system integrators who have worked with the Indian government. The sheer scale and magnitude of such projects make it worthwhile for the industry. Its not all about money the experience of handling large government contracts raises the profile of an IT company and helps it in winning contracts elsewhere. Yet, Indian IT companies are wary of taking a sizeable exposure to the public sector given the inordinate delays in project execution and payments.

Today, there