India a world leader in IT but not a great user: Bhargava

Ahmedabad, Nov 23 (UNI) India might be the numero uno in Information Technology, but the country's corporates hardly make any use of it, said Mr Subodh Bhargava, Chairman, VSNL, at a function at the IIM here.

He said, ''We might be world power in IT, but the IT industry is very much West-focussed and not designed for us. We use it more for data keeping, while the rest of the world is more into analysis and decision-taking.'' He was speaking on the 'India' phenomenon at the inaugural session of Confluence 06, the IIM-A's annual business school meet.

Listing out the challenges before the country, he said India needs to pay more attention to infrastructure development. ''So far industry has grown despite the government. There are areas of infrastructure that need to be addressed.'' He said the country will have to be more competititve, productive and conserve energy. ''Today, the consumer is changing and we need to focus on him,'' he added.

Stressing that technology must be more focussed, Mr Bhargava said Indian corporates should allocate greater resources -- both funds and people -- for technology. He also said maintaining the supply chain is a new challenge for India.

Citing an example, he said Japan imported iron ore more than it needed and dumped the excess ore in a trench. ''They were wiser. And we need to be wise too,'' he quipped.

He said managing knowledge and knowledge employees is also a tough challenge that the country faces today.

Expressing happiness over the scenario on the economic front, he said the growth trajectory had never looked so good. Referring to the opportunities galore available to the present generation of graduates, he quipped, ''I regret I graduated in 1962 and not 2007.'' Also, speaking on the occasion, Editor-in-Chief of Indian Express Shekhar Gupta said the India phenomenon is happening as the political leadership in the country is changing. ''The country's growth is also linked to politics. The political leadership has changed since 1980s. If Mrs Gandhi had put up a lampost, people would have voted for it also in the 70s. But things have changed now. Now no government can take the voter for granted,'' he said.

He said every political leader today is conscious of the fact that he has to perform. ''Not because they love us but to get back to power.'' Citing an instance, he referred to the Assembly elections of winter 2003, when Congress was wiped out in three out the four states that went to polls, barring Delhi.

''Shiela Diskshit government came back to power, because people believed that it had performed,'' he said.

Even staunch Lohiaites like Mr Mulayam Singh, Mr Lalu Yadav and Mr Nitish Kumar too have accepted economic reforms and are open to private sector participation.

Industry bigwigs Mr Arun Maira, Chairman, The Boston Consulting Group, Mr Subir Raha, former Chairman&MD, ONGC, Mr Kishore Chaukar, MD, Tata Industries, Mr Pradeep Singh, Chief Executive, Haldia Industrial Development Agency, took part in a panel discussion on Managing Nations -- a growth trajectory.

The meet is a four-day event, in which top business leaders like Mr Douglas Baillie, CEO, Hindustan Lever, Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO, HSBC India, Mr Scott R Bayman, president and CEO, GE India and Mr Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Nicholas Piramal India among others will share their insights with the future CEOs. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will also talk to students on 'managing nations'.

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