Indian Government Websites: A Study in Uselessness

Statistics page at Gov. of India Directory website. I should not have dared to check the treasures that the NIC (Government's IT arm) has hidden away at the government websites. I dared and my brain just exploded.

If you are fearless, I offer you this: check the footer at the website with the NIC disclaimer.

I have been visiting many state run websites lately and have rarely found one that is well designed and well maintained. It's worrying when you consider the claim (usually from NASSCOM), that India is a Software Giant. It is certainly not. It is said that India's progress is not because of government but despite of it. That maybe true and reflects on the sorry relationship between government and private enterprises. Still, after so many years of impressive growth in software business, if better technology has not reached the Indian public, something is surely amiss.

On the positive side, this is an opportunity for enterprising software vendors and developers in India to make money - if they could convince the babus to invest in better information infrastructure, that is.

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