At its current level, India manages to score only above countries like Mexico, the Philippines and Indonesia whose IT usage as a percentage of the GDP stands at 1.00, 2.70 and 1.40. This information is part of the latest economic outlook report prepared by the International Monetary Fund.

In terms of per capita IT spend, Indias performance is worse, as at $15 it stands ahead of only Indonesia, whose per capita IT spend is $14. Countries like the US, the UK, Korea, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Malaysia, China and the Philippines are far ahead with figures of $2,792, $1,980, $522, $267, $241, $232, $168, $38 and $34 respectively. All figures are for the calendar year 1999.

India stands at the bottom of the list when it comes to PC penetration. At 0.5 PCs per 100 people (all figures for calendar 2000) India falls behind nations like Indonesia (1 PC per 100 people), China (1.6 PCs per 100 people), the Philippines (1.9 PCs per 100 people), Brazil (4.4 PCs per 100 people), Mexico (5.10 PCs per 100 people), South Africa (6.20 PCs per 100 people), Malaysia (10.50 PCs per 100 people), Korea (19.00 PCs per 100 people), the UK (33.80 PCs per 100 people) and the US (58.50 PCs per 100 people).

Similarly, for telephones lines per 100 people (all data for calendar 2000), India at 3.20 line per 100 people just about manages to beat Indonesia, which at 3.10 telephone lines per 100 people is at the bottom of the list. Other countries, which are above India are the Philippines at 3.90 telephone lines per 100 people; China at 8.60 lines per 100 people; South Africa, 12.50 lines per 100 people; Mexico, 12.50 lines per 100 people; Brazil 14.90 lines per 100 people; Korea 46.40 lines per 100 people; the UK 56.70 lines per 100 people; and the US, 67.30 lines per 100 people.

The IMF continues to remain bullish and optimistic on the use of IT and feels that even though the IT spend may remain low globally in the immediate future, usage of IT will continue to grow in the medium-term.

In the report, the IMF has termed the explosion of IT in the last few years as IT revolution and draws parallels with other technological revolutions like railway in the nineteenth century and electricity in the twentieth century.