Looking back on 2005, what stands out the most are all the disasters that came with it. One witnessed so many watershed (no pun intended) events that all the silver lining in the cloud seemed not to matter at all. It was almost like the rain gods wanted to wash away the gloss and show up the grime that we all conveniently choose not to see. One just hopes that it has served the purpose and that we will see better infrastructure across the country.

Closer home in Bangalore, IT capital of India and the head quarters of CIOL, matters could not be worse. The good part is that having reached the nadir, there can only be one way out—up. And as IT companies continue to rush to Bangalore to set up operations and, perhaps, contributing further to the chaos and confusion, it is hoped that the authorities will look at it positively and do the needful by creating world-class infrastructure.

It is often said that it takes a disaster to bring about change. But will the murder of a BPO employee bring about change in the way BPO companies look at security of women employees working the night shift? Despite the headlines and furor, there is nothing yet to indicate that this too will not pass as just another rape/murder in a rapidly growing city.

It is not to say that 2005 did not have any happy stories or endings. Everyone knows by now that India has been rediscovered but few know that it has finally resulted in several billion-dollar investments. It is said that it is but merely the tip of the iceberg; that we will outrun this number by a factor of more than 2 in the coming year itself!.

We also witnessed the march of IT business across the length and breadth of the country, getting out of the confines of the major known metros. That we say Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jaipur, Vizag in the same breath as Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai is an indication that India has arrived as a chosen destination for knowledge-related work.

The world stopped hiding the Made in India tag a few years ago; but Made in India technology products remained out of reach. Then in 2005, we saw attempts of a few succeeding and spurring the confidence of others standing in line to follow.

We heard about the sub-Rs 10K PC. Not many believed it would happen, but it did. We don’t yet know how that will change the Indian landscape in terms of increased access to information to rural India. But it has shown us that it is possible. Hopefully, in the years to come, we will see innovation around this concept and we will indeed see something cheaper and better.

So, 2005 did have its ups while it had its downs. As we look forward to 2006, CIOL brings you the Best and Worst of 2005. We hope you agree with us on our selection. Send in your comments to edit@ciol.com.

Latha Chandradeep
Executive Editor, CIOL