India must not copy US economic model: Pitroda

Telecom guru Sam Pitroda on Wednesday said India should not try to copy the consumption-based economic model of the United States, saying it won't work for this country.

"I personally believe the US-model of consumption-based economy is not scalable, sustainable for a country like ours," Pitroda,who headed the National Knowledge Commission, said. India cannot afford to copy western development model.

Addressing participants of Microsoft-organised TechED 2010, a technology conclave, here, the technocrat said India has its own challenges, requires Indian model (of development) which focused on low-cost solutions.

Speaking via videoconferencing from Chicago in the US, Pitroda said India needs to create its own model of development; not the western way.

"We need to learn to innovate on our own," he said, adding, India needs to look at new development models in areas such as education and health.

Pitroda, advisor to the prime minister on public information infrastructure and innovations, expressed the view that India's rural areas could become outsourcing hubs for urban centres of the country.

"If Bangalore can become back-office of America, why can't our rural areas become back-office of urban areas?" asked the man, who laid the foundation for the country's telecom revolution nearly a quarter century ago.

In the era of computerisation, e-files and broadband penetration, Pitroda said there was no need to have government offices in busy and expensive city centres; instead infrastructure built in rural areas could support such government services.

He said the first phase of ICT (information and communication technologies) revolution in India is beginning to end, and the second phase is about to begin which would have far-reaching implications for the society.

He also foresaw a time in future when all the content would be available on internet and teachers would just have to discharge their role as mentors.

Pitroda said all the money spent by different states on e-governance projects is 'waste' as these are not scalable, adding, there should be standards at the central level for them to follow which would also eliminate duplication.