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IT for a better tomorrow

Aruna Sundararajan set up the Department of IT in Kerala and has been heading it for the last seven years. She tells Sudipta Dev how information technology has brought about empowerment in her state

“Information Technology is tied to aspirations and is empowering,” says Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary-IT of the Kerala government. And the lady should know. She spearheaded the state’s IT mission for the last seven years, with many a landmark achievements in bridging the Digital Divide. It was Sundararajan, who as the newly-appointed Secretary of Industry and Commerce in 1998, went to the then Chief Minister E K Nayanar, and told him about the need to set up a separate department for IT. “I was not sure how he will react to it, but he agreed. We started small, and still remain a small department. The advantage we have had is the freedom to hire professionals,” states Sundararajan. And this unconventional set up in no small way has contributed to the success of the Department of IT, so much so that despite the change in government though the years it has been left untouched, with Sundararajan continuing to head the department.

A 1982 batch IAS officer, Sundararajan is a post-graduate in philosophy from the University of Madras. Her non-IT background, she says, has actually helped in some ways: “You do not get too narrowly focussed on technology. IT is a tool for any activity. It is the capability to understand the potential of technology than the technology itself.”

When Sundararajan set up the Department of IT (the third in the country), the major challenge she faced was to formulate ways and means to retain IT professionals in the state. Sundararajan points out that 15-30 percent of IT manpower at Bangalore were from Kerala. It was a challenge to create opportunities to lure them back to their home state. This of course involved creating more opportunities for Indian and foreign companies to set up base in Kerala. It was a formidable task with major competition coming from neighbouring South Indian states that were already established on the IT radar. “We realised that what is going to be the USP of the place is creativity, talent and manpower. We had to make them come back and train new cadre. We reached out to all colleges. The ITeS Habitat Centre was set up to train people in the BPO sector,” says Sundararajan.

The problem was that companies were hesitant to set up voice-based BPO centres in the state, primarily on account of the typical accent spoken in the region. Interestingly, those companies that set up non-voice-based BPO centres soon started their call centre operations and have been happy with the learning curve of their employees. “Our IT strategy has been focussed on creating best-in-class infrastructure, strong policy initiatives and leveraging the excellent human resources,” states Sundararajan, citing other factors like the competitive cost of setting up operations, the extremely low attrition rate, and high productivity, as the USP of Kerala as an IT destination.

Among the milestones achieved are ‘Akshaya’ (the largest e-learning project in India); an integrated services centre called FRIENDS (Fast Reliable Instant Efficient Network for Disbursement of Services) for paying utility bills, taxes, etc.; the ITeS Habitat Centre at Kochi; the Technopark at Trivandrum and Infopark at Kochi. The ongoing Smart City project coming up in Kochi, in partnership with the Dubai Internet City, will also be one of its kind. “We are trying to bring in global MNC brands to create a lifestyle IT environment. It will be an integrated campus, for work, play, leisure and residential purposes,” informs Sundararajan.

The project that has been closest to her heart is certainly ‘Akshaya’. 6,50,000 people were trained in Malappuram, one of the most backward and remote districts, but also the first in the country to be Wi-Fi enabled. People go to the 630 cyber kiosks in the district, pay their bills and send e-mails. “This area has a predominantly Muslim population. More than 50 percent of those trained were women. How do you tell a rural woman about IT? Why should she find it interesting? We had to organise a big campaign. They learnt because they wanted to teach their children and send e-mails to their husbands who were abroad.”

Sundararajan’s dream is to contribute towards creating a better future for the next generation. “If we want a better tomorrow for them and give them more choices, this generation has to work hard. Technology plays an important role in this effort.” She acknowledges that there is still a lot to be done. “There is a growing awareness in all states in the country that the standards of education should be improved. States are scrambling to give a fillip to English in their education system, this includes those states that had been anti-English even five years back. In Kerala, 80 percent of government schools today have computers. It is a long-term effort.”

As a senior bureaucrat, there are always possibilities that Sundararajan might be shifted to another department and be given different responsibilities. It is something she is prepared for, but will always cherish the learnings as the Secretary of IT. “Information technology really teaches you. There is something new coming everyday—new challenges, new technologies—whatever field you are in, you need to be open to learning. This is what IT has taught me.”

Her interests include reading and dancing. She used to be a classical dancer (Bharatnatyam), while the life of a busy bureaucrat has left little time for this passion, it is something she would like to devote more time to.

sudipta@expresscomputeronline.com