Need to sustain IT boom: BT Worldwide chairman

Chandigarh, July 20 (UNI) British Telecom Worldwide (BT) Chairman Arun Seth today said that there was a need for the state governments to keep the IT boom sustaining through various initiatives like streamlining the education system, strengthening Intellectual Property Rights and effectively handling cyber crime.

Speaking on the first session on Changing Business Eco System and the Flattening of Organisation' at e-Revolution 2006 conclave here, he said it was necessary for the IT companies also now to look at the domestic front to cater to the local requirements. He said the northern part of the country had a vast potential in the IT sector. BT would soon come to Chandigarh, keeping in mind the domestic consumption as well, he added.

CyberMedia, CMD Pradeep Gupta said the major challenges being faced by the industry today included that of ''disruptive changes'' stimulated by rapid technological advancement. But, he added, the emerging geo-political reasons like off-shoring were also redefining the work philosophy.

In order to survive the challenges of these changes, the industry must innovate, as well as learn to respond with much greater speed, he said.

Tech Mahindra president Corporate Affairs Sujit Bakshi lamented the lack of innovation to the extent that there had been no company so far equivalent to the stature of Microsoft in India.

Infoys Technologies Board and Director T V Mohan Das Pai made an appeal to bring about radical changes in the education system to take care of the resource crunch in all streams of industrial segments.

He said it was not only that the right quality of professionals were not available, the companies had also to spend huge amount on retaining the hired workforce, which could be avoided in case the industry needs were met in the prevailing education system.

''The big challenges for the IT and other sectors are also to streamline the education system and help in setting up privately managed institutes of higher learning, give autonomy to the universities in conducting original research, employing brightest of the brights, and freedom to start any new course that meets the market needs,'' he said.

Mr Pai suggested opening up doors to foreign universities to set up institutes in India that would prevent outflow of Indian studies and spending huge money on higher education, as well as help provide opportunity to many other local students to have access to world-class education.

He also suggested national educational loan scholarships and free programmes, to provide equal access to students from all social strata to get the desired education.

''The challenge of human capital supply chain needs to be tackled now, otherwise we will miss another opportunity,'' he remarked.

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