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Monday, Jan 03, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

THE NET FOR INDIA

THE NEWLY LIBERALISED norms for registration of `.in' Internet domain names that came into effect on January 1, 2005 represent another welcome step forward in India's quest for a national identity in cyberspace. For a variety of reasons the Internet has not realised its full potential in the country, although it has attracted a user base of nearly five million and has tremendous scope for e-governance, education, and e-commerce. The record of web domains registered with the `.in' suffix is quite underwhelming: approximately 7,000 such registrations have been made so far, an inconsequential drop in an ocean comprising 60 million domain names worldwide. The generally poor response to the `.in' country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) has been attributed to a rigid bureaucracy, complicated procedures laid down by the registering authority, and, most important, the absence of any perceived benefit accruing from an Indian domain.

Registering an Indian presence has finally become easier for all. The Union Communications Ministry's liberalisation of the relevant norms signals its recognition of the need for a more efficient system that is truly international in character. Under the revamped scheme, it will be possible for anyone to register a `.in' domain, including one with a prefix such as .co.in, .org.in, or .net.in, through one of the registrars accredited by the newly constituted INRegistry of the Government. It is important that the credibility of such a process is, especially in the Indian context, complemented by the ease of use that has come to characterise the Internet. Other domains such as .com and .net remain very popular to this day because they can be registered online using nothing more complex than a credit card. The revised minimum fees of Rs.250 and Rs.500 for different categories of domains have been well received. The registration process is open initially to owners of trademarks and salesmarks who can opt for the `.in' suffix until January 21 during a "sunrise period," after which others including individuals can apply.

If the Internet has to make significant strides, as the Communications Ministry thinks it will, more needs to be done to upgrade the quality of information technology infrastructure. A reduction in domestic bandwidth prices is a prerequisite for both content development and consumer access. The global Internet experience makes it amply clear that a mere web presence in a widely accepted domain is no indication of success. In the matter of developing content, the new medium — for all its openness, accessibility and reach — has been left largely untapped by universities, scientific institutions, public sector organisations, and government departments in India. This serious weakness has to be addressed in the same proactive spirit that has guided the simplification of the domain name registration procedure. A calibrated policy to expand the base of servers to host the `.in' domains and the availability of domestic and international bandwidth to meet a rise in Internet traffic will encourage institutions, big and small, to exploit the potential of the new medium for content development. The reliability of server farms in the United States — with safeguards against power outages, disasters, and cybercrime — has attracted many Indian companies and even official agencies to host their websites from that country. Many other nations are emulating the American example and developing infrastructure to attract new business. India's own modest start with the National Internet Exchange of India is laudable. It promises a better browsing experience and a cut in bandwidth demand by reducing the traffic that it routed to and from servers abroad — for accessing Indian content.

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