http://wire.ap.org/?SLUG=Y2K%2dINDIA [Note: Link may be archived soon]

Some India Banks Not Y2K Compliant

By NEELESH MISRA Associated Press Writer

NEW DELHI, India (AP)  Thousands of small hospitals, local banks and minor power stations could be hit by the millennium bug, India's Y2K troubleshooters said Thursday.

India has prepared its vital installations for the turning of the clock, though, the team said, and expects no trouble other than localized disturbances.

Computers and microchips not purged of the millennium bug could go haywire when their two-digit software or hard-wired clocks turn from 99 to 00, making them mistake the year 2000 for 1900.

``We do not expect any major disasters apart from minor glitches, which will be there all over the world,'' said Dewang Mehta, executive director of the National Association of Software and Service Companies.

But other officials pointed to lapses in preparations.

``The major hospitals are by and large OK, but the smaller hospitals and nursing homes may not be compliant,'' said Information and Technology Secretary P.V. Jayakrishnan. ``We are hoping patients will not go to the hospitals that are not prepared.''

India has tens of thousands of small, privately owned hospitals  where officials say compliance has not been verified. Such hospitals cater to patients who want to avoid the inexpensive but poorly managed government-run centers.

In many other parts of the developing world, such privately owned hospitals tend to be better prepared for Y2K because they generally have more funds than public hospitals to dedicate to getting complaint.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who heads the government's Y2K panel, said 11 key sectors  defense, atomic energy, space, power, civil aviation, banking and telecommunications, railroads, ports, insurance and petroleum and natural gas  were fully prepared.

But S.R. Mittal, chief general manager of the Reserve Bank of India, said ``small banks have reported that they are not going to be compliant.''

Small businesses, which have not be checked for complaints, are also a concern, officials say.

A Y2K check is still under way in power stations across the country.

Extra reserves of power would be stored in several plants that were safe from the problem, and standby diesel-operated systems could be used if there were power shutdowns, said R.N. Srivastava, chairman of the Central Electricity Authority, addressing a joint news conference.

India is a major source of computer software professionals around the world.

Industry groups say Indian companies have done the equivalent of $2.3 billion in Y2K remediation work outside India and $357 million for domestic clients.

-- Steve (hartsman@ticon.net), December 16, 1999

Answers

Somehow, I doubt if the "inexpensive but poorly-run government hospitals" will do all that well...except they may not have computerized equipment.

Lord, I wish there was time...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 16, 1999.

Just a reminder that this is THE civilization that produced the genius that devised the "zero" digit/placeholder, later taken up by the Arabs, and eventually brought to Europe by Fibonacci.

Also, remember that from our perspective, we don't care about India's hospitals--it's a little problem compared to their nuke inventory, and how they plan to use it or not use it, or remediate it.

India is , contrary to the spin that the US papers/media puts out, THE ONLY country that CHIna fears, because it has very nearly the population base of China(how many nations can say that?), it is a DEMOCRACY, and it has lots of nukes that, were India to learn quickly enough that a launch had been made on the USA by China, or anyone else, India would be launching, make no mistake about it.

Why do you think that China is buddy-buddy with Pakistan, the hated enemy of India?

-- profit of doom (doom@helltopay.ca), December 17, 1999.