Sachin Pilot, Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology is of the view that the Northeast is headed for a revolution in information technology. Those of us who live in the Northeast and have to face day-to-day glitches of telecommunications such as network failures for mobile telephones and frequent disruption of Internet connectivity, are perhaps better aware of how efficient the system is in the Northeast. And yet, Mr Pilot was full of euphoria about what was likely to happen to the telecom sector in the region in the near future. He said the Northeast was headed for a revolution in information technology perhaps merely on the basis of the quantum of money spent by his Ministry in the region. Unfortunately, almost all such euphoria is based on a distorted yardstick for measuring progress: the yardstick of money. He said Rs 567 crore would be spent on various schemes while another of Rs 647 crore would be utilized for developing an efficient network for Internet. Most union ministers keep forgetting that in a country like India large chunks of what is allocated for development projects leak out or are siphoned out. It is only when New Delhi can find a better yardstick than money for measuring progress can we be talking of actual progress.