R Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Nasscom, at the inaugural session of Nasscom Product Conclave, in Chennai on Wednesday BIJOY GHOSH
India can take IT solutions to the world, says Nasscom chief
CHENNAI, MARCH 4:
India has the fourth largest start up ecosystem after the US, the UK and Israel. However, if the current trend continues, within a year or two India will reach the second spot after the US. That’s the level of enthusiasm and hunger among start-up entrepreneurs to do ‘something different.’
This is very encouraging for the information technology industry, said R Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Nasscom. At Nasscom, a vision was set two years ago to have 10,000 start-ups by 2020.
Innovation destination
“But the way it is growing, we will have 10,000 start-ups by 2017 or even earlier. We have 3,100 start-ups at various stages of evolution. India is becoming an innovation destination, and that’s what we are trying to rebrand the whole industry as,” he said at the Nasscom Product Conclave.
“But the way it is growing, we will have 10,000 start-ups by 2017 or even earlier. We have 3,100 start-ups at various stages of evolution. India is becoming an innovation destination, and that’s what we are trying to rebrand the whole industry as,” he said at the Nasscom Product Conclave.
Creating start-ups is not a problem anymore. There is a market need, as well as talent and government support. “If you have the right idea, you should be bold enough to start on your own and be successful because the stars are well aligned to support the start-up ecosystem,” he said.
Large software integration firms, including Cognizant, are looking for partnership with specialised start-ups. Being large companies, the problem is that at times agility is being compromised upon.
A large company can, however, combine its scale and market reach with the innovation and agility of a start-up. This synergy will help both organisations. Already 50-60 such partnerships have come up, he said.
Opportunities galore
The Indian IT industry is at the forefront of driving innovation and that’s a great opportunity for companies.
The Indian IT industry is at the forefront of driving innovation and that’s a great opportunity for companies.
Global customers looking for IT solutions came to India for cost, stayed for quality, but will continue the journey for innovation. “Without innovation this industry will seize to grow,” he said. Innovation needs to first focus on the domestic market. In the past, IT companies first served global clients and brought the best practices to India. But with innovation, it will be the reverse. “We will see a lot more innovation happening to solve problems locally, because problems of customers and the government in India are unique and challenging,” he said.
India solved the problem of rolling out Aadhaar to over 650 million citizens. Now linking Aadhaar to offer citizen services is the next step. The World Bank has approached India to see how this can be taken to other emerging markets. “This is one example of what we can do locally and take it to global market,” he said.
There is government support with the Budget announcing the Self Employment and Talent Utilization scheme with ₹1,000 crore for setting up start-up incubation centers, he said.
(This article was published on March 4, 2015)