Indian computer industry comes of age

The cavernous convention hall of New Delhi's Ashok Hotel seemed too small for the hundreds of delegates streaming in. The occasion was the annual convention of the Computer Society of India (CSI), and harassed organisers rushed about trying to find seats for the crowd. Said one, scanning the humming ranks for a vacant place: "The response is terrific. We had catered for 1,200 delegates, but several hundred more want to attend."

That the convention, and the accompanying exhibition of computers in two five-star hotels, resembled nothing so much as a thriving beehive is symptomatic of the Indian computer industry's coming of age. The micro-processor based systems on view- a micro-processor is the famous 'chip' - were tended by earnest young men and women, who claimed that their wares could match some of the best that the West has to offer. Kim Gilliland, manager, Middle East and Africa region, of CPT Corporation, United States, was explicit in his approval: "I am very impressed by the technology on display. Most of the stuff here is first-rate."