Sunday, July 6, 2008

The dawn of a new history in Indian software sector

The service sector of India, particularly software, has already made the west and the east crazy about Indian talent. Cutting across political party lines, this is a sector that has emerged more on its own and is the foremost sector contributing to rising GDP of the economy. For years, others ruled us and we were growing despite pulls and pressures - both national and international. Now, we rule the software sector in terms of number of people involved.

The coming days are going to be even brighter. The reason being that the same service sector has generated more employment in India than in US. What is more evident is the fact that many British and American graduates want jobs in India. It is a trend unimaginable a few years ago.

Here's the first article which says 30,000 US CITIZENS are employed in software companies in India.

The second article says how British graduates are turning their direction to India for jobs

This third article comes from an unknown source("unknown" in the sense that this country was also interested in the sector was unknown to me) of seeking inspiration from my very own Bangalore city, according to which Scotland wants to replicate Bangalore model of BPO call centers (technical and non-technical).

This fourth article that appeared a few months back says that many foreigners are seeking VISAS to come to India to work.

It is rather interesting to note that the software sector is doing reasonably good (if not excellent) even in the current time of global economic crisis. The reason I guess is the increase in outsourcing. However, no longer is India a hub just for services. It has become a hub for new R&D. Microsoft, Hughes, SAP, Oracle - all have R&D here. In fact "Autonomous Computing" research is heavily done in India than in the US. This was clearly evident when I found that many US universities are seeking inputs and studying research results from Bangalore's IBM division of Autonomous computing. In fact, Infosys recruits in the US. I am sure several other Indian companies also do. The top US universities are ready to accept IIT graduates- this is mainly because of the brilliance these students carry with them.

Is this the beginning of a new India or continuation of a strong latent India?

At a time when the same sector is facing job cuts in the US, Indian software sector is booming. Many would say that the current crisis is short and the days of the software sector booming again in the US is very soon to happen. What is common is the fact that "Indian software sector boom" ,before and after this crisis will persist. Perhaps, critics of my article would say that if US didn't exist, Indian software sector could not have risen. This situation is going to reverse sometime soon if the trends of this kind (as given by above articles) continue. I am not claiming that my prediction will be true, but the trend is a sure indicator of the same.

In fact, this press statement from Microsoft website by Mr. Bill Gates is far revealing - This was in 1997...

"The country's advantages are many. India has an excellent university system. Its computer scientists are among the leaders of companies worldwide. Its technology centres in Bangalore, Pune and other places are well respected," Mr Gates continued. "India has what it takes to participate in, even to shape, the future if it makes the necessary investments now. It must build a national telecommunications infrastructure, develop a robust domestic software industry, provide Internet connectivity for the consumer and continue to invest in education."

So, I guess we are on a new path and soon will be creating a new history in the world economics.

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