Govt. has not done enough on Y2K: Nasscom

NEW DELHI, September 2: The Indian government has not

done enough to educate the world on its Y2K preparedness. The

international agencies have also not yet properly evaluated India’s

position on the issue. These observations have been made by the National

Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) in its fortnightly

update on the level of Y2K (Year 2000 Date Problem) preparedness in India.

The scope of Nasscom’s ongoing survey is focussed at

determining the level of Y2K preparedness in various sectors in India;

expected period of achieving Y2K compliance; preparation of post-Y2K

contingency plans; and initiatives required to provide factual information

to international communities of India’s Y2K preparedness.

Nasscom president Dewang Mehta cautioned that "Inspite

of good work done in India, we have noticed that many international

agencies have not yet properly evaluated India’s position on Y2K

preparedness mainly because of lack of information."

Nasscom has adopted a popular Y2K-compliance rating

scale that is also widely endorsed including by- J. P. Morgan, a leading

US financial agency; United Nations, World Bank and a number of national

Y2K committees. "Based on the findings of Nasscom’s study, we have

recommended upgradation of India’s Y2K preparedness rating against

international benchmarks from Level 3 to Level 2," Mr Mehta added.

Nasscom has written to some of the leading overseas

Governments of USA, UK, Japan, and international agencies around the

world, providing a status on India’s Y2K preparedness. This is in

response to a recently released report by the US State Department, which

has identified India as "poorly prepared for Y2K bug.

SEB, SMEs still a problem



"Still, lot of work needs to be done in sectors like state
electricity boards, some of the state governments and small and medium

enterprises," said Mr Mehta.

Aviation



As per the survey, situation in India’s aviation sector seems to be
getting well under control. Most of the airlines in Indian skies have

already declared themselves to be Y2K compliant. We have also been

informed that DGCA is working with international organisations such as

International Civil Aviation Organization and other apex bodies of world

aviation sector.

Telecom



As per the survey, VSNL has also achieved Y2K compliance for its
leased circuits facilities. Further, MTNL has also declared itself to be

Y2K compliant.

Railways



The chairman of the Railway Board is directly monitoring Y2K
compliance progress in the sector. Indian Railways have indicated that

they would adhere to their deadline of 30 September 1999 for Y2K

compliance.

Banks



The Reserve Bank of India has stated that as on 31 August 1999, 95%
banks in India were Y2K compliant. Further, it is expected that 97% of

banks in India will achieve Y2K compliance by 15 September 1999. In the

latest initiative, 95 out of a total of 105 banks in India have also

prepared contingency plans to meet potential problems and also submitted

the same to RBI, should the systems perform unexpectedly.

India’s banking sector has made commendable strides

in addressing Y2K problem. So much so that central banks in other

countries are now approaching Indian banks and software companies to

assist their constituents with achieving Y2K compliance.

Stock Exchanges



Many of the stock exchanges in India have been declared to be Y2K
compliant, or expected to achieve the same soon. However, it is learnt

that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sent a warning to

six stock exchanges in the country to discontinue trading from November

1999 onwards, in case they are not Y2K compliant.

Power



Lot of concern has been expressed over state of preparedness of the
power sector. As per information received at NIC, it is interesting to

note that out of 315 power generation stations, about 220 are based on

analogue systems in India. Thus, only 95 stations have varying levels of

computerization. Out of this, only about 50 are reported to be online. It

is also reported that 20 out of these 50 are already Y2K compliant and the

remaining 30 are at varying degrees of compliance. It has also been

reported that most of the non-online power stations are also reaching good

levels of Y2K compliance. Thus, now the concentration is to make about 45

of the total of 315 power generating stations to be Y2K compliant.

Oil and Petroleum



Companies involved in the production, refining, processing,
transportation and distribution of oil and natural gas continue to make

significant progress with their efforts to remediate and test mission

critical systems. Further, no major impact on availability and usage of

natural energy products in India is expected. It is expected that by 15

September 1999, the public sector organisations in this area would be Y2K

compliant.

Mr. Mehta further said, "Based on facts reported

to us and as per our on-going survey, we believe that January 1, 2000,

will pass with decidedly and relatively less business disruption than is

anticipated in some circles." Mr. Mehta added, "Although we do

not wish to downplay the significance of the Year 2000 problem, but we do

believe that the potential for a dramatic breakdown in the Indian economy

and society are no longer among the scenarios that may play out next year.

Our confidence levels in Y2K preparedness has increased in recent weeks.

Although problems do remain in some crucial sectors and we need to

continue to act fast."