BCG and McKinsey advising government on digital infrastructure reform
The Indian government has engaged Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey to streamline the operations of two of its digital focused entities.
Two government organisations in India, one with an almost fifty-year background (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) and the other a ten-year-old initiative (Digital India Corporation), are on the verge of undergoing a significant makeover.
This is where the leading global strategy consulting firms – Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and McKinsey & Company come into play.
BCG was given a contract earlier this year by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to restructure the National Informatics Center, which offers the government essential digital services, such as network infrastructure, data centers, software applications, and cloud services.
This restructuring initiative, headed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, who is in charge of the ministries of the railways, telecom, and electronics & IT, has a bigger context – the privatisation of digital infrastructure. The aim of the ministry is to open up core digital infrastructure and services, previously under the control of internal agencies like NIC and DIC, to private entities.
The privatisation drive seeks to leverage the industry’s expertise and enhance e-governance services and security. The move will also bring in funds for other investments.
In parallel, the government awarded McKinsey a contract to suggest ways to reform Digital India Corporation, which has been instrumental in creating significant digital services and a centralised platform for public procurement.
Despite the fact that both contracts are relatively small in size (totalling under $6 million), an expert affiliated with the procurement process said that both mandates were highly sought after due to the prestige attached to the work.
