March - 2001 - issue > Cover Feature

As the Old Economy gives way to the New, and the effects trickle down, India finds itself face to face with an opportunity to return to world leadership via the same factor that formed the basis of its past days of glory: Knowledge. Intrinsically speaking, India seems to be well on track to redeem this promise. On the complex global business stage though, given today’s uncertain market conditions, India’s grand opportunity is nevertheless fraught with challenges. We present these challenges, or as we call them, working principles, in this cover feature.
Gurucharan Das, noted author, management guru, and member of siliconindia’s newly constituted India editorial board, says in his recently released book “India Unbound”:

“The Vedic adage ‘Knowledge is wealth’ sums up the Indian opportunity in the new century. We have witnessed epochal and transforming innovations in electronics and information technology. For the first time in history we are able to see a technological revolution that offers the opportunity for bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots. As the technology converges between television, computer and telephone, the Internet could touch everyone’s life and break the barriers that have divided us up to now. Although it is not a panacea for all our developmental problems, used imaginatively, it can be a powerful vehicle to transform the lives of ordinary people, both socially and economically.”

This feature specifies precisely what this vehicle needs to run swiftly and at peak efficiency, transporting believers, practitioners and users. We have tried to clarify in practical terms this concept of a “new Indian knowledge economy” by offering 11 key principles, each of which is essential to driving the vehicle in the right direction. We elaborate on these through the voices of experts involved professionally in each area. These 11 principles are:

1. Build Core Competencies!
Indian IT cannot afford to sit back and take it easy. It has to make a conscious effort to ascend the global value chain or lose out to ever strengthening global competition. To get a handle on the situation, Satyam Chairman Ramalinga Raju discusses how India’s competitive edge lies in services. He believes the nation has what it takes to be the global Wal-Mart of services, provided the people in charge keep their eyes open for global opportunities. And there will be opportunities, in fields as diverse as biotechnology and secretarial services, he predicts.

2. It’s Still About People!
In the high-tech race, “Your company is as good as the people it employs,” point out Ganesh Natarajan, CEO of Aptech and Prof. Pankaj Jalote of IIT. Describing the current human capital environment in India they analyze the most intimidating challenge faced by Indian IT companies today — retaining employees. Companies have tough time holding on to good people when dollars, pounds, dinars, and yen sing so seductively. Will the exodus continue? Are companies in India coming up with the right answers or have they already lost the war? Will companies like Wipro, Infosys and Satyam lure professionals back by creating workplaces and remuneration packages that compete with the developed world?

3. Don’t Compete
on Cost, Quality Wins!
Large volumes do not justify compromising quality. Over the long haul, a focus on quality is critical. India should not lose sight of this in pursuit of offering the “cheapest” services to the world. To become indispensable to the world, says V. Sudhakar of Intelligroup, India should strive to be the best and should set standards for the rest of the world to follow. India should be to IT outsourcing what Germany is to cars and Japan is to engineering!

4. More Capitalism Please!
Michael Clark, director, US India Business Council, outlines the pitfalls of a closed economy. He takes stock of the situation and advocates measures that will make it easier for multinationals to operate in India. This is a must read for all who aspire to setting up shop in India’s chaotic business bazaar. It may not be an easy world to conquer, but it is surely worth the effort!

5. The World Is the Market!
What does India need to be competitive on a global scale? Is India going to be the cost leader? Or are sheer numbers going to do the trick? Maybe, maybe not. Master business strategist Prof. Anil Gupta discusses India’s strengths and weaknesses as it seeks to compete globally. He also suggests how India could effectively carve out a niche for itself.

6. Bandwidth First!
Experts discuss how all our grand projections and visions will remain just “projections and visions” on paper, unless India faces up to some serious infrastructure problems. Hopes of global IT leadership are admirable, but without adequate bandwidth, it’s all a pipe dream. Projections by NASSCOM, the state governments and the IT ministry have been very dramatic so far. But on a reality scale, does Indian bandwidth match up with international standards? The answer is no. Is infrastructure or the last mile access the bane of the system? Discussing this and many other issues, we take a long, hard look at the bandwidth situation in India: the promise and the delivery.

7. Take Internet to the Masses!
Is technology another fad and no more? Is it yet another elitist concept like foreign cars that has meaning only for the privileged? Who but the affluent can afford to bring home a PC in India? T. Hanuman Choudhary, the man behind the IT success of Andhra Pradesh, says the Internet is meaningless unless it touches the life of the man on the street. He advocates reaching out to the larger population by building infrastructure in local languages and providing everyone the tools to access this empowering medium.

8. Leapfrog Technologies!
From an economy dominated by agriculture and small industries, to one driven by knowledge and information … From being completely unconnected, to a state of super-connectivity, on multiple levels of voice, data and video. It’s a fact: technologies are leapfrogging into homes, businesses and, perhaps most significantly, the government. In this section we take a particularly in-depth look at the new concept of e-governance in India, and what it means to people on both sides of the counter.

9. VCs Watch Out!
Talk about VC and entrepreneurship hysteria — India has seen it all! Every kid on the block dreams of becoming a Premji, a Raju, or a Narayana Murthy. Every VC tries to be a Mike Moritz or a Khosla. But how is this infant industry handling shakeout and failure? After all, only a few companies have survived the hype to become meaningful, profitable businesses as dozens of dot-coms have sunk like their counterparts in the US. In numerous interviews with leading Indian VCs we analyze the mistakes they have made. We discuss specifically which sectors will not work and what lies ahead. We also cajoled some VCs into revealing their most realistic RoI projections in the Indian context!

10. US Markets are Not Easy!
For once, many Indian companies have dared to be different. The reward? Successful IPOs on the Nasdaq and NYSE. We have zeroed in on what it takes for an Indian firm to get listed on Wall Street. Mohandas Pai, CFO, Infosys; Ajit Balakrishnan, CEO, Rediff; Shankar Iyer, CEO, Silverline — each brings a different perspective to the pros and cons of taking India-based company public on the US exchanges. They also answer the questions you may have been dying to ask: What are the logistics of the process? What does it really take? Finally, do the benefits really outweigh the negatives?

11. Have a Proactive Mindset!
Last but not the least, Ashok Trivedi, co-founder and president, iGate Capital, discusses the mindset of a nation of a billion people and what role that mindset plays in the overall growth and development of the economy. With tradition pulling one way and megabucks pulling in another, Indians face a tough task. Trivedi seeks to answer the question: Will this be the Indian century?

We would like to acknowledge the help we received from N. R. Narayana Murthy, chairman and CEO, Infosys Technologies, who consented to be the guest editor of this feature. He provided the right perspective to each aspect that we covered, and connected us to the people whom we could tap into for expert analysis.
We look forward to your feedback on this issue. Write to us at: editor@corp.siliconindia.com.
- Editors