Just as the growth of electronics from simple vacuum tube to the complicated VLSI and microprocessor is one of the greatest marvels of this century, the development of computer from its first to fifth generation (KIPS) is really astounding.

The computer has the following capabilities.

There is hardly any human activity which is not affected by the Computer in some way or other, be it industrial management and production, health, education, agriculture, defense, crime detection, communication or travel. Naturally, the social and economic implication of computerisation is too conspicuous for any realist to see.

At the turn of this century, every worker had to put in 60 hours of work per week. This had been later reduced to 40 to 36 man hours per week. In many places 6-day working week has been reduced to 5-day week. This is the immediate effect of computerisation. Man is saved from lot of drudgery. Production becomes more economical. Therefore, for less work, the employees get more wages. If men could earn more as a result of computerisation, the women could have a better peace of mind and manage household chores with more confidence. The workers can afford to enjoy more free time. Free time gives them ample scope for intellectual exercises like literary, cultural and social activities. This does not mean retrenchment or unemployment.

The history of the growth of Bell Telephone, the worlds' biggest firm manufacturing telecommunication equipments, among other things, is a speaking example. Some years ago, the Bell Telephone management took a decision to computerise their production. Fearing unemployment, the employees opposed the move. The management assured them no retrenchment and launched the programme. Adopting CAD/CAM, they made innovations in their production. New components for more efficient communication came into the market to meet the sudden spurt of demand, the company had to expand its activities. Consequently, the existing employees got more promotion avenues and new hands had to be recruited to share the growing work load.

These are the days people are conscious of high sophistication. Accuracy, precision, credibility and availability of products in sufficient quantity at the right time are the vital factors which ensure industrial success. Without computers, these are unattainable in this age of stiff competition both in the domestic and foreign markets.

It is not enough that we produce only for internal consumption. We should export our products. This calls for international standard. Precision at the order of a micron can be achieved only with the aid of computers. When we capture world markets through quality products, our industry grows and with it, the employment facilities expand and we achieve economic prosperity.

COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATION

Communication is as vital as labour and capital for modern industrial growth. Justice Louis Joinet said "Information is power and economic information is economic power". Transmission of information is called communication. Instant communication is so vital for an industrial establishment having branches in different parts of the world. Continuous assessment of the performance of various branches from a central station helps the management to make economic, marketing and business decisions at the right time. Computer communication, through its local Area Network (LAN) Wide Area Network (WAN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) can connect urban cities, and villages.

Different countries are brought together through computer network and geostationary satellites. The communications speeds have crossed 16 million bits per second (Mbps). In a modern industrial Scenario where patience is not considered a virtue, this much speed of data transmission is most essential. Through computerised communication we do not transmit Morse codes nor any short hand, but the whole files in its readable form. Pictures and drawings also can be transmitted as such. Digital telephone systems, satellites, car phones, teleconferences, voice mail boxes and electronic mail systems are the end products of computerised communication systems. We have now mobile offices. These facilities are of great help not only for industrial growth but also for day-today administration. Peoples' grievances are heard in time and the project implementations are readily monitored. Thus the Computer acts as a veritable tool for Social change.

Most of the organisations under Public sector undertakings have computers for local operation such as salary, inventory control, administration and process management. If only there is a system of communication between these industries as far as data distribution and enquiries are concerned, the effective planning and implementation of Government policies would take place. Timely action would avoid a lot of wastages and costly delays.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

Food and agriculture need an integrated approach to several input factors. It is very necessary to have a database of common interest for storage and retrieval to provide:

1. Soil and its characteristics

2. Fertilizer availability and distribution

3. Water resources

4. Meteorological characteristics all year

5. Crop pattern

6. Live stock and its mobilisation

7. Grain collection and distribution.

The above functions are performed by different organisation like NRSA, FCI, IFFCO, CWPRI, 1MD and ICR1SAT located at different places. Their activities in isolation are of no use. Information from different geographical regions of the country collected at different centres and fed through national data network would produce wonders in our food and agricultural sector.

HEALTH

In the medical field, the use of computer has come as a boon. In a computerised Medicare system, chances of human error are minimised or completely eliminated. Pathological tests, scanning and continuous monitoring of body conditions of a patient being operated are done through computerised testing and surgical equipments. The storage of patient data makes future diagnosis more easy. The disease data are made available for research and analysis. Using computer, the best medicine available for a particular disease and its availability can be ascertained. If hospitals are connected through LAN and WAN, communication between hospitals can be made easy and for emergency, the best source can be tapped and precious lives can be saved.

Through such a Medicare system, a healthy population emerge. They live longer and happier.