Govt ties up with BSA to boost software sector

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Department of Information Technology (DIT) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) have come together with a three-track roadmap for the software industry in the country. With encouragement to start diligence policy framework for software acquisition, this synergy is poised to accelerate software industry.

Speaking at an event organized by the BSA with support from the DIT, Robert W Holleyman, CEO of BSA, said that their focus would be to build market environment where technology could grow. “BSA member companies have heavily invested in India and have made significant contribution to the economy,” he said.

BSA’s three-fold roadmap includes implementation of the software asset management (SAM) in the government agencies. It’ll also hold orientation workshops for the officials in the e-governance division. DIT will also leverage BSA guidance to protect and secure IT assets.

DIT will also work with other ministries in the central government to bolster legal software usage and encourage best practices for software procurement. In addition, the BSA will work with FICCI for awareness programs for SMEs.

R Chandrashekhar, secretary, Ministry of Communications and IT, said that industry partnership is extremely important. “The IT sector has grown with the services as well as with the government policies and the industry participation,” he added.

“The government can facilitate in terms of policy framework and initiatives but the industry needs to identify the areas of innovation, added Chandrashekhar. BSA said that it will continue to hold regional workshops for state government departments. 

Shankar Aggarwal, Additional Secretary, DIT, said that ICT can play a vital role in inclusive growth. “We adopted national e-governance plan to empower a large number of people and India would be largest economy by 2050,” said Aggarwal.

NASSCOM chief Som Mittal said that the government is today making investments in infrastructure to drive growth. “IT is going to be a big change agent. We have to build a new level of trust with the government,” he said.

Mittal said that innovation is happening in SMEs and the country’s 9 per cent GDP growth is led by the enthusiasm of the business leaders.

With an objective to promote IT/ITes sector, DIT is all set to boost the software industry which is plagued by piracy and unethical practices through this collaboration.