We need to create a second rung leadership: Bagchi

Mumbai, Feb 15 (UNI) The Indian IT industry has not created a second rung leadership so that the baton of succession is passed off successfully in the eventuality of the top man hanging his boot, MindTree Consulting's co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Subroto Bagchi stated.

''Unlike the Indian film industry, where right from legendary actor Dev Anand to Amitabh Bachchan, the baton of success has passed of successfully over the decades, the Indian IT industry has not had the same trend,'' Mr Bagchi observed, while speaking on 'Taking India to the next level of Global Leadership', at the valedictory session of the three-day NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2008, which concluded here today.

''We have to play a large role in terms of taking the second rung to the level, where it is in a position to take up the top leadership,'' he said.

Stating that India was not as global in its mindset as it should have been, Mr Bagchi said, ''If Indian cities cannot team up with the rest of the Indians, it cannot be global.'' Mr Bagchi said that the industry has failed to reach the the larger section of the society, which was so essential to become global, and for this particular reason there was a fair amount of angst in the society.

He said that the industry, in a way, has become ''inwardly looking'' and urged it to dialogue with the people from the second and three-tier cities.

Taking a question on the issue of the political leadership vis-a-vis IT industry, Chairman EDS Asia Pacific Advisory Board and Vice President, General Manager EDS India, Jerry Roy, appreciated the political order in the country and said that there was nothing wrong with the political order, and it was only because of this order that things were in place.

Responding to a query on the role of women in the Indian IT industry, Vice Chairman NASSCOM and Deputy chairman and managing director, Zensaar Technologies Mr Ganesh Natarajan, said that at present there were some 25 per cent women workforce in the industry and in the next couple of years, the women representation will go upto 50 per cent.

''We may become the first country to break the gender barrier, where there will be a 50 per cent women workforce,'' Mr Natarajan said.

UNI IAS SR AK RN2039