Friday, June 26, 2009

New Delhi
The Economic Times The Tribune The Times of India

The government plan to provide unique identification numbers to all Indian citizens could be a "big catalyst" for the IT business which for some time has seen a decline in big ticket projects.

Industry analysts feel that all the major domestic players like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam are likely to bid for this ambitious project, which could be, valued around two billion dollars.

"The project would act as a big catalyst. The Unique ID project will overlay many underlying projects, creating huge efficiencies for the country leading to enhanced governance and reduced costs," Som MIttal, President of IT industry body Nasscom, said.

And once implemented, it would open up new markets. "The domestic IT market is still hugely untapped," Mittal said.

However, most of the IT majors when contacted by PTI, preferred not to comment on whether they would bid for the project.

TCS, which is already working on the government's mega e-passport project, refused to comment.

Infosys, whose former co-chairman Nandan Nilekani is going to head the project, also did not say whether they are going to participate in this project.

So did the newly rebranded Mahindra Satyam. Cognizant, however, said it would take a call once the government comes out with a tender.

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