- In the last few years, the Indian government has awarded Infosys many big-ticket projects including 350 crore rupees MCA21, 1,380 crore rupees GSTN portal, and Income Tax portal, and all of them continue to face one or other issues to date.
- Infosys, the Indian IT multinational, is proving to be the HAL of the private sector.
- It would not be inappropriate to say that on the government projects, it works like a Sarkaari office.
Infosys, the Indian IT multinational, is proving to be the HAL of the private sector. Multiple delays, lack of functioning of projects, bugs in portals, and many such issues are being faced in the products of projects that were awarded to the second-largest IT company by the Indian government.
In the last few years, the Indian government has awarded Infosys many big-ticket projects including 350 crore rupees MCA21, 1,380 crore rupees GSTN portal, and Income Tax portal, and all of them continue to face one or other issues to date.
All portals face issues when they go live, and problems keep popping up every week. What is special in Infosys’ case is that it failed to fix many bugs leading to the government calling it out. It would not be inappropriate to say that on the government projects, it works like a Sarkaari company.
The problems for the company were accentuated when the Income Tax portal was not fixed for a long time and ultimately Finance Minister summoned Salil Parekh, MD and CEO of the company.
The portal – www.incometax.gov.in had a bumpy start since its opening on June 7 as taxpayers, tax professionals and other stakeholders reported glitches in its functioning. The glitches in the portal led to annoying taxpayers venting out their anger against the dysfunctional product developed by Infosys.
The government has awarded many big-ticket projects to other Indian IT services companies including passport system (TCS), Aadhar system (HCL), and Project Insight — for helping the department profile all taxpayers and flag high-risk individuals to L&T Infotech. Most of these projects are ongoing very well and very few complaints have been received from the users.
In the cover story titled “Saakh Aur Aaghaat” (Reputation and Harm), Panchjanya alleged this was not the first time Infosys had done shoddy work when handling a government project. Citing problems in websites for Income tax, GST and Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the magazine remarked, “When these things happen repeatedly, it is bound to raise suspicion. There are accusations that the Infosys management is deliberately trying to destabilise India’s economy… Could it be that some anti-national power is trying to harm India’s economic interests through Infosys?”
The magazine continued its onslaught on the company and added, “Infosys is accused of providing assistance to Naxals, Leftists and Tukde-Tukde Gang. The issue of Infosys directly or indirectly supporting divisive forces in the country has already come out in the open. It is believed (that) misinformation websites… are funded by Infosys. Some organisations that spread caste hatred are also beneficiaries of Infosys’s charity. Shouldn’t Infosys promoters be asked what is the reason for the company’s funding of anti-national and anarchist organisations? Should companies of such suspect character be allowed to participate in the government-tendering process?”
The magazine also questioned the allegiances of Nandan Nilekani, one of the promoters of the IT giant who has fought previously on a Congress ticket.
Read More: Panchjanya’s criticism of Infosys is absolutely spot on
“One of the promoters of Infosys is Nandan Nilekani who has contested Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket. The company’s founder NR Narayana Murthy’s opposition to the incumbent government’s ideology is not hidden from anyone. Infosys appoints people subscribing to a certain ideology on important posts… If such a company gets important government tenders, wouldn’t there be a threat of influence from China and the ISI?”
The people associated with Infosys have been questioned earlier. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, former Independent Director of Infosys, was caught in the insider trading case and SEBI forced her to pay a fine. Also, Narayan Murthy was the owner of Cloudtail, a major seller at Amazon through which the company violated Indian e-retailing norms.
So, it is high time for Infosys to focus on the products of its company. It has been awarded some of the biggest government projects and it must deliver on those, otherwise, its hard-earned reputation in the international markets would go for a toss. The government too should diversify its options and make room for other tech players to deliver on government projects.