Indian IT on the High Road to Growth
The Hindu, dated September 4th, 2009 published an article on NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies, India) expecting double-digit growth in IT exports.
Bigwigs in the business world met up at the e-Revolution-09 conclave in Chandigarh, where the theme was “Transforming Region: Harnessing Technology through Inclusive Growth”. Pramod Bhasin, Chairman of NASSCOM delivered the keynote address, where he laid emphasis on industrial growth along with increased employment and wealth creation.
NASSCOM foresees a growth of $225-300 billion in IT exports from India while employment is expected to grow from the current 4 million to a staggering 14 million in the next five years. But a stumbling block to the growth of the industry, he felt, was the lack of qualified manpower. Experts feel that currently only about 8-10 percent of qualified graduates are employable. An updated curriculum coupled with proper industrial training to hone their entrepreneurial skills and talent, they felt, would correct this situation.
The Governor of Punjab lauded the efforts by the Chandigarh administration in setting up the Entrepreneur Development Center to encourage and develop young talent and the setting up of an IT park to increase employment. About 30,000 new jobs are said to be in the offing by 2010. He appreciated the fact that the existing educational curriculum had also been modified to help train students become better entrepreneurs. He hoped these efforts would in turn help the development of the masses.
Mr. Bhasin said that Chandigarh, a tier-1 city, with its infrastructure and a safe environment, had the potential to become another Singapore and could beat Pune and Bangalore hollow in becoming the most sought after IT hub.
My take: India can be a frontrunner if it puts in a few obviously-needed improvements.
To growth in your business,
