Dot.compradors: Power and Policy in the Development of the Indian Software Industry

"India Shining" has become the brand name for a new India presented in Bollywood films, advertisements, and books. A key part of this image is the software industry, held up as the symbol of prosperity and post-modernity.

Opening with a primer on the Seven Leading Myths about the Indian IT Industry, Dot.compradors reveals the darker reality behind "India Shining," providing a history of the industry from the 1970s to the present day. Jyoti Saraswati punctures the myth of a free-market industry by showing the role of state intervention, and shows how vested interests and elite corruption have shaped, and continue to shape, one of the world's most dynamic sectors.

Both a detailed case study and a wider consideration of development issues, Dot.compradors argues that the software industry is a substantial obstacle to a broader-based, more egalitarian form of development in India.