From "Produce and Protect" to Promoting Private Industry : The Indian State's Role in Creating a Domestic Software Industry

The Indian software industry is a major success story. In this chapter, I analyze the history of the industry from the perspective of the Indian state. Initially, the Indian government sought to produce software directly through state-owned enterprises that were protected. The industry suffered as private-sector software firms struggled to compete. Beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s, state and central governments took a more friendly approach to private-sector software firms. This change of approach resulted in enormous growth. Note: this draft is an earlier version of the chapter