The Hindu : Nasscom initiative to step up R&D for innovative IP-products

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

Business

Business

Nasscom initiative to step up R&D for innovative IP-products

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE MARCH 21 . The success story of India's software services is being admirably replicated in the BPO/ITES segments. However, the country's IT firms have to invest more on R&D activities, if the predetermined target of achieving a turnover of $75 billion by 2008 is to become a reality. For this a year-on-year growth of 32-33 per cent has to be sustained. As difficult as this may seem, this is the only way to touch the $50 billion mark in Indian software exports that has been set by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).

Throwing the gauntlet at the Indian IT industry, the Nasscom President, Kiran Karnik, urged Indian IT firms to step up research activities, innovate and develop (intellectual property) IP-products. With areas such as embedded software and chip design presenting a high-end opportunity for Indian companies, "India can ride the embedded software wave that has been pegged as a $21 billion industry worldwide,'' Mr. Karnik said.

As a development enabler, the Nasscom has strategised a three-pronged approach to encourage IT firms towards IP-innovation. The country's primary software body would collaborate with universities and academicians to generate a mass-scale productisation of IP; work with individuals to encourage more start-ups and incubate and stimulate innovative work through a broad framework.

The Indian IT industry has fared well compared to its global counterparts this year. However the (U.S.) dollar depreciation will affect the country's IT exports with a slide in value terms by 2-3 per cent, meaning a 28 per cent overall growth as against the previous estimate of a 30 per cent growth for 2002-03. IT exports for the first three quarters (April-December 2002) at Rs.34,000 crores were better than the previous year's corresponding period of Rs. 26,000 crores. The apex IT body has roped in public relation firms and its partner associations in Europe to publicise India's value proposition of quality at lower costs. Moreover, Germany's decision to stop issuing green cards might have to be revised given the acute shortage (of software professionals) faced by European companies.

The ongoing Iraq crisis has opened a flood of opportunities for the Indian IT industry. "If the war is short, which we hope it is, then there will be zero impact on the industry... However if it is a protracted event, then travel will be hit along with issuance of visas... So if we (read Indian software professionals) cannot go out, work will have to come here and this means more outsourcing opportunities for us,'' remarked Mr. Karnik.

He cautioned that a pro-longed war would have a detrimental affect on new investments, business opportunities and IT clients that Indian companies expected to attract.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business