Tata Consultancy eyes e-governance projects

BANGALORE - IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is eyeing e-governance projects to cope with the downturn, according to a senior company official.

“Post-elections, we believe conditions are ripe for e-governance projects to take off at the central and state levels,” TCS chief financial officer S. Mahalingam told IANS here.

“We believe the momentum will pick up now for more e-governance to improve government services to the people. We are already working on an e-passport scheme for the ministry of external affairs with two pilot projects in Bangalore and Chandigarh,” he added.

In this context, Mahalingam said basic infrastructure spanning roads, power, water, transportation and housing were critical for the efficient functioning of the information technology (IT) industry in both tier-one and tier-two cities.

“Sound infrastructure will enhance our ability to work from any city. Similarly, IT-enabled infrastructure will enable governments and organisations to improve their delivery mechanism. There is a phenomenal need for IT in public services and utilities,” he asserted.

Though the $6-billion TCS lost to rivals Infosys and Wipro in winning some e-governance projects, it has bagged a multi-million-rupee contract from the corporate affairs ministry for total re-engineering of corporate governance across the country.